The latest Department of State Health Services news from The Texas Tribune.
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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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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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
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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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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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
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
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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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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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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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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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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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Senate Health and Human Services Committee members heard emotional testimony from reproductive rights and anti-abortion advocates on Wednesday over Senate Bill 8, Senate Bill 415 and Senate Bill 258. Full Story
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U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks ruled Texas cannot require health providers to bury or cremate fetuses, delivering another blow to state leaders in the reproductive rights debate. Full Story