Gov. Greg Abbott wants to know how much hospitals spend caring for undocumented immigrants. Hospitals should not deny care based on how patients respond.

KPRC 2 and our Community partners are helping create a holiday “tree farm” event for pediatric cancer patients

On Nov. 1, hospitals will begin asking patients their citizenship status. But data suggests uninsured citizens, not immigrants, cost Texas hospitals more.

Texas hasn’t increased Medicaid rates for inpatient health care at private hospitals in 16 years, falling behind other states.

Congressman Al Green and other leaders addressed Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that requires hospitals in Texas to collect information on the immigration status of patients so that the hospitals can then track costs incurred for the care of undocumented migrants.

The executive order from the Texas governor will require hospitals to track the cost of care for undocumented migrants, in order for the state to push for federal reimbursement.

In Houston, discharged patients remain in an arena to avoid powerless homes. Some 70 miles north, Livingston’s hospital is one of 17 in the state relying on a generator because of Hurricane Beryl power outages.

The mental health workforce shortage is more acute in rural areas, adding to rising patient loads in hospital ERs.

Staffing shortages and mismanaged care can delay when Texans on some Medicaid programs are discharged from hospitals. This can cost the state more and take a toll on patients and caregivers.

The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires hospitals to stabilize any patient in the emergency room, even, the Biden administration noted in recent guidance, if that requires performing an abortion. Texas sued over the guidance last year.

La Grange residents worked for months to try to save the 65-bed hospital and asked the city to step in with a loan, but it wasn’t enough.

Shop our Amazon wish list with care package items hand-picked by NICU nurses

The new medical facility, to be located in downtown Austin, will help expand the University of Texas System’s reputed cancer center outside of the Houston area.

Austin-based VA Claims Insider says it has helped hundreds of thousands of clients. It has also touched off complaints and investigations.

A Houston mayoral candidate wants to solve the city’s problems.

On the same day the Texas Legislature is set to debate Senate Bill 14, a proposed ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids, the attorney general files a request to examine documents related to the use of puberty blockers and counseling for trans youth.

A rural hospital hasn’t closed in Texas since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020. That could change as federal relief ends.

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, hopes the pilot program will help female veterans get better access to cancer care.

Medical professionals across the state have expressed confusion over what care they can provide amid Texas’ abortion ban, leading to some patients allegedly receiving delayed care or being turned away.

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Debate over the waiver was key to the federal government’s push for Texas to expand Medicaid for more working poor.

Hospitals and other health care providers in Texas, which has the lowest rate of insurance coverage in the nation, have gotten some $1.8 billion in federal help for uninsured COVID-19 patients.

Texas got a temporary reprieve on Medicaid funding from the federal government. But that won’t solve underlying problems with high numbers of uninsured Texans and the plight of hospitals in the state — especially those in rural areas.

The money reimburses hospitals for the services they provide to Medicaid patients in Texas.

State lawmakers will tell you they hate property taxes as much as anyone. But the state itself doesn’t levy the tax — local governments do. And lowering it in a meaningful way would require state officials to raise taxes or cut programs. For them, talking about it is easier than doing something.

COVID-19 numbers are plummeting statewide, but on Texas’ southern border with Mexico, Laredo is still battling its fourth surge.

Texas falls short, again, of the pandemic record for COVID-19 hospitalizations, while daily deaths are expected to continue rising for several more days.

A staffing crisis and the surge from the omicron variant have pushed the number of Texas ICU beds to a new record low. The shortage affects not just patients with the coronavirus, but every Texan seeking serious medical care.

Texas will soon surpass its previous COVID-19 hospitalization record. Doctors and nurses say they can’t keep up this pace for much longer and implore people to get vaccinated.

“The situation in Texas is that it probably won’t reach the peak [for cases] until the second half of January,” a top researcher said.

Darrell Pile with SETRAC is concerned that this current surge will surpass all of those prior.

Health officials are asking people to stop visiting hospitals for testing and avoid adding an additional strain on the state’s health care system.

Some hospitals are better prepared than they were early in the pandemic, but administrators say staff morale still stands on shaky ground.

Escuche al Dr. Ivan Meléndez disipar la desinformación que corre entre la población de habla hispana.

Stuck between Biden's and Abbott’s competing vaccine rules for employees, public hospitals consider their next move even as most private systems already require vaccination for employees.

With hospitals being full, emergency room doctors are asking patients not to go to the ER just to take a COVID test.

Stressed health workers are now confronting volatile visitors and patients. “The verbal abuse, the name-calling, racial slurs … we’ve had broken bones, broken noses,” said one hospital official in Dallas.

So far the state has paid to hire more than 8,000 contract health care workers as hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Texas approach the record set last winter.

More than a year into the pandemic, a doctor at Houston's United Memorial Medical Center said some of his nurses have left for higher paying jobs.

After increasing in January due to the COVID-19 omicron variant, the number of hospitals reporting full ICU units declined after falling short of the August peak, which was caused by the delta variant.

The small districts aren’t fighting Gov. Greg Abbott’s mask rules, but fears for staff, students and local medical facilities are driving them to fight COVID-19 with temporary closures.

With multiple hospitals in the Houston area dealing with staffing issues, the Harris Health System received some much-needed help on Thursday.

As medical professionals continue dealing with a surge in COVID-19 patients, the impact is certainly being felt across Houston-area hospitals.

Sheyla Moraes, an intensive care nurse, says this latest surge of the coronavirus pandemic is particularly draining because it was preventable. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.

The number of COVID-19 patients being treated continues to increase every day.

More children are being treated in Texas hospitals for COVID-19 than ever before, and an unseasonable outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus is adding to the stress on children’s hospitals.

County commissioners approved up to $9M to help pay nurses to help staff at overflowing hospitals

The number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals is rising too fast for hospitals to keep up with, hospital leaders told state lawmakers Tuesday.

In 2016, an independent study commissioned by the city of Houston called for 70 “peak time” ambulances to be added to the Houston Fire Department in order to effectively serve the city’s population.

"This surge is by far the fastest and most aggressive that we've seen," said the health authority for Austin and Travis County, who urged eligible Texans to get vaccinated.

The lack of available nurses has driven up salaries and created a heated, competitive job market as thousands of positions remain open throughout Texas.

While supporting mandatory vaccines for nurses, Texas Nurses Association officials say nurses do have the right to chose, but they also have the right to choose a different career field that doesn’t put themselves and others in harm’s way.

After years of studying how to practice medicine, they quickly learned how to treat COVID-19 patients, relay difficult news to loved ones and manage their own mental health during a pandemic.

Houston – KPRC 2 Investigates sent a poll to area hospitals asking about healthcare worker vaccine rates. Each hospital that responded to the poll said COVID-19 vaccines were offered to 100% of its healthcare workers. Baylor College of Medicine reported a 79.6% vaccination rate. Texas Children’s Hospital reported a 78% vaccination rate. Cuero Regional Hospital had the lowest vaccination rate in the poll.

Dr. David Persse, Houston’s chief medical officer, spoke about various medical situations he has seen pop up during the winter storm. You can find a list of warming centers here. Dialysis patientsPersse said people who need dialysis may be having trouble getting their treatment because many of the dialysis centers are dealing with power outages and low water pressure. In the meantime, some providers may direct their patients to other dialysis centers that do have the ability to provide treatment. Outpatient clinicsPersse said most outpatient clinics are dealing with power outages and water issues just like everyone else.

HOUSTON – Oren Murphy is a former minesweeper for the U.S. Navy and 60 years later, he is navigating the deadly challenge of COVID-19. KPRC 2 Investigates discovered foreign nationals who have traveled to Houston and elsewhere are getting vaccinated. Dr. Joseph Varon of United Memorial Medical Center says he first heard of foreign nationals receiving vaccines intended for Texans here in Houston at the end of last month. Following a roundtable meeting with public officials on Tuesday, we asked Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom about foreign nationals out of the county on hospital databases who are receiving vaccines. Back home in Houston, Boom told KPRC 2 Investigates, “There have been 60,000 people vaccinated.

HOUSTON – Employees at The Heights Hospital said they couldn’t get into the building Monday when they showed up for work. “We came to work and we were locked out,” said clinical coordinator Barbie Ortega. One indicates more than $322,000 in back rent, and the other indicates more than $948,000 in back rent. She said patients still showed up so staffers took matters into their own hands, treating what they could in the parking lot. The hospital’s website is currently down and some employees said they do not know if they will still get paid.

HOUSTON – Health experts at Memorial Hermann Hospital and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center say they’re prepared for what may come in the next few weeks. “We certainly continue to ask for help from the people of greater Houston help us stop this disease. On Tuesday, the Texas Medical Center reported 4,515 new cases and 388 new hospitalizations. Several hospitals in our area already have plans in place if the numbers get worse. Both hospitals also have additional staff, agencies and traveling workers who are ready to help out.

HOUSTON – The Houston area officially crossed Tuesday the hospitalization threshold that triggers a rollback in reopenings for the area, and the state has sent letters to county judges informing them of the requirement. Greg Abbott’s reopening order that requires, among other things, bars to close and restaurants to reduce capacity to 50%. ‘Wake-up call’Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she expected Tuesday’s numbers to push the region over the threshold. Pamela Hillhouse, who owns Mel’s Place on Airline Drive, said she had to use more money to get a license and products to serve food. Stella Birchfield, the head bartender at Mel’s Place, said she chose to retire from her other work and spent years working at the bar, taking care of regular patrons.

While at least seven local hospital campuses are now closed, at least three emergency rooms remain open. They do not anticipate the closed hospital campuses, which include outpatient, wellness centers and orthopedic hospitals, to reopen until at least Friday. Flood gates securedOfficials at the Texas Medical Center in Houston closed the flood gates Wednesday afternoon. Per emergency recommendations, the metal doors close eight hours before any storm makes nearby landfall. Research and our teaching activities within this building were completely halted for many weeks,” said Scott Patlovich, UT Health Assistant VP Environmental Health and Safety.

HOUSTON – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has fast-tracked a promising drug to treat COVID-19 patients and it is in trial at Houston Methodist Hospital. The drug is called RLF-100 and is also known as aviptadil. It has been approved by the FDA for emergency use at multiple clinical sites in patients who are too ill to enter the FDA’s Phase 2/3 trials. According to a press release from the drug maker NeuroRX, independent researchers have reported that aviptadil blocked replication of the SARS coronavirus in human lung cells and monocytes. The drug has been successful in reducing lung inflammation and so the FDA now says any doctor at any hospital can request this treatment to help severely ill COVID-19 patients.

HOUSTON – Leaders from the four largest hospital systems in Houston said Thursday that they are in good shape to handle a surge of coronavirus patients if it happens. Still, CEOs from four leading hospitals in the medical center say they’re prepared to handle surge capacity. Houston hospital leaders discuss capacity Houston-area hospital leaders are discussing capacity at their facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center are equipped to deal with a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations. “What they are showing is an increase in cases, increase in hospitalizations, increase in intensive care unit stays, and an increase in deaths for the next couple of months,” he said.

___In Guinea, oxygen is a costly challenge for government-funded medical facilities such as the Donka public hospital in the capital, Conakry. Courts have sentenced about a dozen people for selling and stockpiling unauthorized oxygen cylinders, often at exorbitant prices. “The amount of oxygen being brought here isn’t enough.”In Sierra Leone, neighboring Guinea, just three medical oxygen plants serve 17 million people. Everyone is counting on the hospital’s oxygen plant to start up, but no one knows when. Julhas Alam in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia; and Youssouf Bah in Conakry, Guinea, contributed to this report.

HOUSTON – Intensive Care Units at hospitals throughout the Houston area could surpass total occupancy as soon as Thursday, according to data released by the Texas Medical Center. Data released Wednesday placed the ICU occupancy percentage at 97% of which 27% are COVID-19 patients. The current growth trajectory for coronavirus in the Houston area suggests ICU surge capacity could be exceeded within the next two weeks. After an ICU reaches its capacity, a hospital will use other spaces to house ICU patients. An unsustained surge means a hospital no longer has space in-house for ICU patients, meaning patients could be housed elsewhere.

HOUSTON – At the United Memorial Medical Center, the COVID-19 surge is not numbers and statistics. That day, doctors and nurses struggled to save an 82-year-old man with a history of heart disease whose heart had stopped. The same scene plays out daily, at this small hospital in a low-income north Houston neighborhood that primarily treats minority patients. I’m a hundred percent sure it’s going to happen.”The increased patient count at this ward shows the spike has already begun. However, the governor insists that even with the surge in cases, Texas has enough hospital beds and ventilators to accommodate the increase of new cases.

HOUSTON – As Texas continues to reopen, many areas, including the greater Houston area, have seen a slow climb in the number of new coronavirus cases reported each day and coronavirus-related hospitalizations. Since Memorial Day, the state has also seen increases in the number of people testing positive for the virus. He also said Texas has “abundant” hospital capacity at present the goal is to keep it that way. See the SETRAC coronavirus and hospital capacity dashboard below:How to use this interactive dashboard:The dashboard has six sets of charts that range from a daily COVID-19 tracker to hospital bed capacity. Click through the buttons at the top or the slides at the bottom to see all the charts from SETRAC.

HOUSTON Texas continued an upward trend in hospitalizations of coronavirus patients, setting a new one-day high Monday for the seventh time in eight days. Governor Greg Abbott announced that he will address the issue of growing COVID-19 hospitalizations in a press conference Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. He will be joined by Dr. John Zerwas, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs of the University of Texas System and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt, and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. Texas health officials reported 2,326 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and 1,254 new cases, the most ever reported for a Monday, which is typically the lowest day of the week for new virus cases. That trend mirrors other data like increases in newly reported cases and hospitalizations on a state level.

For the fourth day in a row Monday, Texas reported record highs in hospitalizations from the new coronavirus. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that there are 2,326 patients with COVID-19 in Texas hospitals the highest number to date. Greg Abbott has allowed Texas restaurants to operate at 75% capacity and other businesses to operate at 50% capacity. As the coronavirus first gripped the state in March, though, Abbott allowed local officials to make their own decisions about business closures and stay-at-home orders. He cited it as an encouraging metric as the states stay-at-home order expired at the end of April.

As part of our new Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston. The question: Can people visit loved ones in hospitals or nursing homes yet? The answer: COVID-19 remains a concern for both Houston-area hospitals and nursing homes. Hospitals in the Houston-area such as Memorial Hermann, Houston Methodist and HCA Houston Healthcare have begun to slightly relax visitor restrictions by allowing one designated visitor over the age of 18 per patient. Nursing homes can begin to ease visitor restrictions as long as they abide by guidelines highlighted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):No new COVID-19 cases for 28 daysNo staff shortagesEnsure PPE and cleaning supplies in the buildingMust have adequate access to COVID-19 testingEach nursing home may have different visitor restrictions, call your loved one’s nursing home facility for more information.

In honor of National Hospital Week, health care workers, medical facilities and health systems are being highlighted around the country. After that, I took several pediatric patient transfers and a few other patient transfer between our sister facilities. Memorial Hermann has always provided very good equipment. Memorial Hermann is truly where I belong because Memorial Hermann is one, and one family. It’s like a second home.”In honor of #NationalHospitalWeek, help us say thank you to the team at Memorial Hermann.

On Friday, Dallas officials were notified that a privately-operated homeless shelter, Dallas Life, had reported 17 guests who tested positive for the new coronavirus. The number has now increased to 38, according to the shelter’s executive director Rev. Bob Sweeney, who confirmed the figure on Friday to The Dallas Morning News. “[The City’s Office of Homeless Solutions] is working collaboratively with the shelter and the organization is providing staff and operational support at the hotel site,” Rubio said. Sweeney told the News that the outbreak started when the first person of three tested positive for the virus eight days ago.

HOUSTON – Houston-area hospitals are issuing urgent calls for plasma donations from people who have recovered from coronavirus as doctors use it to treat current patients. Doctors at UT Health are now taking part in convalescent plasma therapy for coronavirus patients. Urgent need for volunteersWith plasma therapy, doctors transfer the antibodies that fight COVID-19 from those who have recovered, to patients who are seriously ill with the virus. Who can donate plasma? Must have fully recovered from COVID-19 with no symptoms for at least 28 days before the donations.

EL CAMPO, Texas – Before the coronavirus pandemic, rural hospitals are already stretched thin. El Campo may be a small city touting a little over 11,000 residents, according to the 2010 Census. Coronavirus in rural countiesAbout 60% of rural Texas counties have confirmed cases, according to the CEO of Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals John Henderson. Channel 2 Investigates calculated that 31 of the 39 rural hospitals had only two ventilators or less, thanks to numbers provided by TORCH. “I think we are as best equipped as we can be under the circumstances,” said Dr. Brooke Dorotik of El Campo Memorial.

Greg Abbott took multiple measures Sunday designed to expand hospital staffing and capacity, but declined to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order — even as calls for such an action increased as the new coronavirus continued to spread across the state. In an effort to free up hospital beds in anticipation of an influx of patients sick with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, Abbott ordered health care professionals to postpone "all surgeries that are not medically necessary" and suspended regulations to allow hospitals to treat more than one patient in a room. As of noon Sunday, there were at least 355 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Texas and six reported deaths. At least 8,756 people have been tested. This developing story will be updated soon.

HOUSTON – As cases of the coronavirus began appearing in the Houston area, hospitals began assessing policies to protect patients. Houston MethodistHouston Methodist issued the following policy on March 27:"To protect our patients, visitors, employees and physicians as COVID-19 continues to spread, Houston Methodist campuses will no longer permit visitors. Memorial Hermann"Effective Friday, March 27, Memorial Hermann will no longer allow visitors to enter our facilities until further notice. Effective immediately and until further notice, each HCA Houston Healthcare hospital will allow two visitors at a time per patient. St. Joseph HospitalSt. Joseph Hospital released a statement regarding its response to the coronavirus and the policy changes being made to protect its patients and staff.