Texas News
News stories from the past 60 days.
Jan 24, 2023 - Highlights a report from GoodRx Research, stating that more than 113,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) live in 492 counties that lack mental health providers. The study also found that counties with a higher population of AI/AN residents had a lower percentage of households with access to telehealth. States with the highest numbers of mental health deserts are Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Alaska. South Dakota and Alaska are among the states with highest numbers of AI/AN residents living in mental health deserts.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jan 11, 2023 - The Texas Department of Agriculture is asking the Texas Legislature to sustain funding for the Farmer Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program. This would help pay for a toll-free helpline for workers in the agricultural industry, their families, and people in their communities.
Source: The Texas Tribune
Dec 30, 2022 - Describes challenges faced by residents of colonias, rural unincorporated communities along the U.S.-Mexico border that lack basic services. More than 134,000 residents in colonias across the Southwest do not have access to safe, clean, running water or sewer services.
Source: Cronkite News
Dec 29, 2022 - Describes the lingering effects that surges of COVID and other infectious diseases have had on Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, Texas; St. James Parish Hospital in Lutcher, Louisiana; and Bellin Health Oconto Hospital, in rural Wisconsin. This has compromised hospitals' ability to best serve their patients, by changing some operations permanently and postponing other projects and plans.
Source: Vox
Dec 28, 2022 - New research shows that inaccuracies in reporting COVID as cause of death on death certificates are more likely for Americans who are Black, Hispanic, Asian or Native. In many small, rural Texas counties death certificates are filled out by Justices of the Peace, who have limited medical training and might not have sufficient access to postmortem COVID testing.
Source: USA Today
Dec 21, 2022 - Describes obstacles Texas rural emergency service providers face when they respond to traffic accidents. Spotty cellphone service, high-speed crashes, and low seatbelt usage all contribute to disparities between urban and rural traffic fatalities.
Source: The Texas Tribune
Dec 20, 2022 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announces over $65 million in new funding through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students through schools and libraries. This funding commitment benefits approximately 170,000 students across the country, including students in Alaska, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and Texas.
Source: Federal Communications Commission
Dec 15, 2022 - Describes the ways in which inflation and workforce shortages have put many rural Texas hospitals at increased risk of closure. Includes statistics on position vacancy rates at Texas Critical Access Hospitals and percentages of Texas rural hospitals at risk of closing in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Source: Houston Public Media
Dec 7, 2022 - Reports on the increasing rates of boil-water notices issued in a rural East Texas community and the challenges that aging water infrastructure poses to rural communities across Texas. Describes planning and funding options and barriers limiting the capacity for rural water companies and boards to apply for funding.
Source: The Texas Tribune
Nov 30, 2022 - Describes a new report from healthcare consulting firm Kaufman Hall, showing that nearly 1 out of every 10 Texas hospitals are now at risk of closure. The report highlights COVID-19's toll on Texas hospitals as they face growing strain from surges in respiratory illness, workforce shortages, and rising costs of medication, medical supplies, and labor.
Source: The Texas Tribune
Last Updated: 1/24/2023