Tag Archives: hospitals

HCA Healthcare hacked

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A national breach with Houston connections. HCA Healthcare, which operates more than a dozen hospitals in the Houston area, announced that personal information from as many as 11 million patients nationwide has been stolen in a data breach and could be sold … Continue reading →

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A more general look at ransomware attacks

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This WaPo story, which I found by googling around for more news on the Dallas ransomware attack, has some great general information on this recent plague, which I thought you’d find useful as well. The ransomware attacks that pose a … Continue reading →

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More plaintiffs join lawsuit against Texas over abortion restrictions

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. One woman had to carry her baby, missing much of her skull, for months knowing she’d bury her daughter soon after she was born. Another started mirroring the life-threatening symptoms that her baby was displaying while in the womb. … Continue reading →

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FDA approves RSV vaccine

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. After a 60-year scientific quest, the world has its first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV – and more are on the way. On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Arexvy, made by GSK, … Continue reading →

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Feds rebuke hospitals that didn’t do emergency abortions

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Relevant to our interests. Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found. … Continue reading →

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Harris Health seeks bond issue

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Probably on your ballot this November. Harris Health board members on Thursday unanimously agreed to move forward with a $2.5 billion bond proposal to build a new Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital and make what they say are sorely needed upgrades … Continue reading →

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Another “future doctor shortage” article

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Third in the series. This one covers our future nurse shortage, too. More than a year and a half after Texas implemented its six-week abortion ban, and months after Dobbs, medical providers say they are facing impossible situations that pit their … Continue reading →

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More on the lawsuit that seeks to clarify exceptions to Texas’ forced birth laws

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of interesting articles to read to enhance our understanding of the lawsuit filed by five women who claim that Texas’ anti-abortion laws have harmed them. From Vox: In theory, even after the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion decision in Dobbs v. … Continue reading →

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Five women harmed by Texas’ anti-abortion law file a lawsuit over it

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this ought to be interesting. Five women who say they were denied abortions despite grave risks to their lives or their fetuses sued the state of Texas on Monday, apparently the first time that pregnant women themselves have taken … Continue reading →

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Emergency miscarriage care

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another thing most of us have not had to think much about in the past when abortion was generally legal. [A uterine aspiration (also commonly known as a D&C) or the removal of tissue from the uterus via suction] is a … Continue reading →

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New year, new omicron variant

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Stay safe out there. A new omicron COVID-19 variant is spreading fast across the United States and beginning to make inroads in Houston, where the positivity rate continues to rise. The new strain, XBB.1.5, was first detected on the east … Continue reading →

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It’s winter surge time again

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, though I think you already suspected this. COVID-19 cases are rising across Texas two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, echoing last year’s surge of the omicron variant. There are more than 18,000 positive … Continue reading →

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Beware of RSV

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Worrying. Two common respiratory viruses continue to keep Houston pediatric hospitals unusually busy this time of year, with both the flu and RSV seeing a second surge following a rise in cases over the spring and summer, respectively. Before the … Continue reading →

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Is this just the calm before the next COVID wave?

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things look good now, at least in the Houston area, but COVID never sleeps. As the U.S. heads into a third pandemic winter, the first hints are emerging that another possible surge of COVID-19 infections could be on its way. … Continue reading →

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The wastewater is looking good now

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

In terms of COVID levels, anyway. The COVID-19 viral load in Houston’s wastewater has sunk to its lowest point in seven months as the city puts the latest wave, driven by the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5, in the rear … Continue reading →

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The new county COVID risk assessment system

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it works. Harris County has revamped its method for assessing the public’s risk for contracting COVID-19, replacing the threat level system that has been in place since early in the pandemic with a community level system that … Continue reading →

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“Safe haven” laws are also not a replacement for abortion

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing a theme. What are safe haven laws? A flurry of Houston baby abandonments in the ’90s led Texas to become the first state to enact a safe haven law in 1999. Created as an incentive for parents in crisis who are unable … Continue reading →

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A different EMTALA ruling in Idaho

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. You know where this goes from here. A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Idaho from enforcing a ban on abortions when pregnant women require emergency care, a day after a judge in Texas ruled against President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading →

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Restraining order granted in Paxton’s EMTALA lawsuit

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Texas hospitals will not be required to provide emergency abortions after a federal judge ruled the Biden administration was unauthorized to enforce such a rule. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in Lubbock ruled that the guidance by the … Continue reading →

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At least you’re (probably) not giving birth in West Texas

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a long story about the lack of prenatal and obstetric care in West Texas. It’s mostly set in Alpine, Presidio, and Big Bend, which are the “big cities” in the area that actually have doctors and medical facilities … Continue reading →

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The latest COVID wave may be peaking in Houston

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully… Texas Medical Center data released Tuesday suggests the latest wave of COVID-19 might have reached its peak in the Houston area, though several key metrics used to track the virus remain high. The medical center’s weekly data report shows that … Continue reading →

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We need more monkeypox vaccines

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We have a chance to get on top of this. Let’s try to take it. Houston-area leaders on Monday evening called for more vaccines to combat the small but growing number of local monkeypox infections. There are 57 reported cases … Continue reading →

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The current state of the hospitals

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Worse than before, but not nearly as bad as before that. A small but growing share of Houston healthcare workers are calling in sick with COVID, exacerbating long-running staffing issues at some hospitals amid the virus’s resurgence. But despite spreading … Continue reading →

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When abortion is outlawed, pregnant people will be denied health care

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s already happening. The Texas Medical Association is asking state regulators to step in after it says several hospitals afraid of violating the state’s abortion ban have turned away pregnant patients or delayed care leading to complications, The Dallas Morning … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over emergency guidance to doctors

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is what “leaving it to the states” looks like. Texas is suing the Biden administration over guidance released Monday telling the nation’s doctors they’re protected by federal law to terminate a pregnancy as part of emergency treatment — and … Continue reading →

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COVID hospitalizations up in Houston

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. COVID-19 hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the Houston area over the last month, according to re-published Texas Medical Center data, which paints a clearer picture of the risk associated with newer, increasingly transmissible versions of the virus. The medical … Continue reading →

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The empty “mental health” promise

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What’s going on in Uvalde these days. Days after the May 24 shooting, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promised an “abundance of mental health services” to help “anyone in the community who needs it … the totality of anyone who lives … Continue reading →

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Are we going to raise the COVID threat level again?

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe, but not yet. Coronavirus infections are on the rise across Houston, wastewater tracking shows, even as fewer people seek testing two years into the pandemic. Four months after the city saw record infection rates caused by the highly contagious … Continue reading →

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Checking in again on the wastewater

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

COVID levels keep creeping up. After the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million deaths on Monday, new data shows numbers on the rise again. The latest Houston Health Department wastewater results from May 9 show levels are now … Continue reading →

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Time once again for Texas hospitals to struggle financially

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I feel their pain, but… More than $3 billion in federal money has flowed to Texas health care providers in recent months to help pay for COVID-19 treatments, tests and vaccines for patients without health insurance, according to national health … Continue reading →

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Are we about to get more COVID in Houston?

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We could be. New data from the Texas Medical Center shows COVID-19 cases have leveled off over the past week, but some trends suggest the Greater Houston area could be on the verge of seeing higher virus spread. TMC hospitals reported an average of … Continue reading →

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COVID hospitalizations at a low in the state

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good news (say it with me) for now. Texas hospitals are treating fewer than 1,000 patients with COVID-19 for the first time in two years. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, hospitalizations totaled 993 on Sunday. The … Continue reading →

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And we’re back to yellow again

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hope it lasts. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday lowered the county’s COVID threat level to yellow, signaling a controlled level of cases following the decline of the omicron wave. The yellow level means COVID poses a “moderate … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo is back

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be interesting to see how different it is, if it’s different at all. And this year, after a one-year hiatus, the rodeo again will be focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19, the virus that abruptly brought the rodeo … Continue reading →

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