Anti-vaccine Texas families may take their fight to day cares next
A leading anti-vaccine group claims that day cares are breaking the law by denying kids who haven't been vaccinated. Experts say the group is misinterpreting the law. Full Story
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Judge strikes down Texas law requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains
The ruling comes after a five-day trial in July at which patients, health providers, state agency officials, bioethicists, cemetery directors and religious leaders got on the witness stand. Full Story
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![Protesters of Texas' fetal remains burial rule gather outside the Governor's Mansion on Jan. 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Slow family reunifications, Cruz-O'Rourke TV ads
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Marissa and Emma about moldy, rat-infested state office buildings, family reunifications at the border, TV ads in the U.S. Senate race and a Republican state lawmaker's tough words for the Texas governor. Full Story
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![Border Patrol agents apprehend asylum seekers shortly after they crossed the Rio Grande River.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Other than the mold and the rats, it’s a picture of health
If the state's health agencies have been willing — until found out — to let their own employees work in squalor, should the rest of us be asking more questions about how they're watching out for us? Full Story
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![Mold on a computer wrist rest at the Austin State Hospital 636 building.]()
Credit: Obtained by The Texas Tribune -
At town hall, health services commissioner tells state employees mold-infested building "not unsafe"
The Texas Tribune obtained a recording of a town hall meeting with Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt and state workers nearly two weeks after they were relocated from the Austin State Hospital 636 building where a mold infestation had invaded their workspace. Full Story
![Mold on a computer wrist rest at the Austin State Hospital 636 building.]()
Credit: Obtained by The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Looming family reunification deadlines and moldy state office buildings
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Patrick and Emma about Texas' mold-infested state health services building, whether the feds will meet a court-ordered deadline for migrant family reunifications and why some Republican statewide officials have no incentive to debate their Democratic opponents. Full Story
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![A Texas Department of State Health Services employee found mold on their office keyboard hand rest in June 2018.]()
Credit: Obtained by The Texas Tribune -
Texas health agency to vacate mold-infested building
Texas Department of State Health Services employees are being relocated from the Austin State Hospital 636 building where a mold infestation has invaded their desks, chairs, carpeting and keyboard hand rests. The news comes one day after The Texas Tribune reported the mold incursion. Full Story
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![Exterior of the Austin State Hospital 636 building.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Texas health building invaded by mold, raising health concerns
Workers have found mold infiltrating their desks, chairs and keyboard hand rests in the Austin State Hospital 636 building. The state has spent nearly $16,000 fighting the mold so far. Full Story
![Mold on a computer wrist rest at the Austin State Hospital 636 building.]()
Credit: Obtained by The Texas Tribune -
Texas fetal remains burial trial gets underway
The law at the center of the case is Senate Bill 8, passed in 2017, which requires the burial or cremation of fetal remains. Full Story
![Protesters of Texas' fetal remains burial rule gather outside the Governor's Mansion on Jan. 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
In Poland, midwives play a significant role in childbirth. In Texas? Not so much.
Poland and Texas have comparable populations, conservative governments and stringent anti-abortion policies. But they differ significantly in how health care is delivered for women — and in the role they allow midwives to play in the childbirth process. Full Story
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![A midwife cares for a newborn baby at the Independent Public Health Care Center in Myślenice, Poland.]()
Credit: Natalia Ojewska for The Texas Tribune -
State auditor finds more contracting errors made by health agencies
The State Auditor’s Office released a 30-page report on Monday showing the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Department of State Health Services bungled a contract with Genesis Systems Inc. Full Story
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![Charles Smith of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services testifies Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, to the House Committees on Human Services and Public Health at the Capitol.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Report: Texas' maternal deaths were dramatically lower in 2012 under new methodology
Some of the state’s top health experts released a report in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology on Monday that used a new method for counting — and found that the number of women who died dropped from 147 to 56. Full Story
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Credit: Dave Herholz -
Texas clinics flooded with “tsunami” of flu patients — and the season may not have peaked yet
More than 4,000 Texans have died from flu-related illnesses this season, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Full Story
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![A clinician at the Project Vida Health Center in El Paso on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. Clinics and hospitals across the state have been dealing with a tough flu season this winter.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas fetal remains burial rule blocked by federal court again
U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Monday afternoon that Texas cannot move forward with the rule, citing that the Texas Department of State Health Services’ arguments “lack merit.” Full Story
![Protesters of Texas' fetal remains burial rule gather outside the Governor's Mansion on Jan. 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' infant mortality rates vary across state, among ethnic groups, study shows
While Texas' infant mortality rate is lower than the national average, a new study shows wide variations in rates across different areas of the state and among different racial groups. Full Story
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Parents push for Texas to screen all newborns for spinal muscular atrophy
A group of parents is asking the state to test all babies for spinal muscular atrophy, the most common genetic cause of infant death. They hope that a treatment newly approved by the FDA will bolster their cause. Full Story
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![Beth Moore plays with two of her children, William, 6, and Mary, 2, who both have spinal muscular atrophy. Moore asked the Newborn Screening Advisory Committee in August to add the disease to a list of diseases for which newborns are automatically screened in Texas.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Amid opioid investigation, Texas and other states demand drug company documents
Texas and a coalition of 40 other states have served subpoenas or other requests to eight companies that manufacture or distribute prescription painkillers, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
House passes four maternal mortality bills
House lawmakers tentatively approved a series of bills Monday aimed at helping Texas curb its unusually high rate of women dying less than a year after childbirth. Full Story
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Texas legislators pass bills aimed at maternal mortality, postpartum depression
Both chambers passed bills on Tuesday aimed at curbing postpartum depression and the alarming rise in Texas mothers dying less than a year after giving birth. Full Story
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Credit: Bas Silderhuis -
House aims to improve process of removing kids from dangerous homes
House lawmakers on Monday voted to streamline how courts work with the state's child welfare agency to protect abused and neglected kids — and laid out concrete reasons children can be removed from their homes. Full Story
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![State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, leaves the front mic after the House voted for his House Bill 7, a child welfare reform bill, on May 8, 2017. Child welfare reform is a key target of the 85th Legislature after reports of mismanagement surfaced.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune