Tag Archives: Methodist Hospital System

Anti-vaxxer defamation lawsuit against Houston Methodist dismissed

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A state district judge has dismissed Dr. Mary Talley Bowden’s defamation lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital, which suspended the doctor’s privileges in late 2021 over COVID misinformation. Judge Mike Engelhart, of the 151st Civil District Court, heard arguments Monday afternoon after the … Continue reading →

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More on our future doctor shortage

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is unsustainable. Abortion restrictions have forced Texas obstetrician-gynecology residency programs to send young doctors out of the state to learn about pregnancy termination, a burdensome process educators say is another example of abortion bans undermining reproductive health care. At … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds dismissal of Methodist vaccine mandate lawsuit

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging Houston Methodist’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which last year thrust the hospital into the national spotlight as the first healthcare system in the U.S. to require the … 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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Spare a thought for the nurses

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And do everything you can to avoid getting COVID. [Kristen McLaury, a nurse and unit manager at Methodist Hospital The Woodlands] treated one of the hospital’s first COVID patients and hasn’t stopped since. She now runs the respiratory unit, where … Continue reading →

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You (probably) still have to get vaxxed if you work in Houston

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see this, but there’s a huge question that this story doesn’t address, much less answer. Local companies say they will maintain their vaccination policies despite last week’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s vaccination … Continue reading →

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More proof that vaccine mandates work

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, most people just get the damn shots. The rest is sound and fury. Protests, lawsuits and national media coverage surrounded Houston Methodist Hospital in June when it became the country’s first major health system to require a … Continue reading →

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COVID rate slows a bit, but ICUs still full

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The good news. So far, the delta variant has fueled a month of Houston-area COVID hospitalizations over 3,000, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. But Texas Medical Center records show positive case rates may be slowly declining. … Continue reading →

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Hospital systems have no excuse for not mandating COVID vaccines now

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So get on with it already. Local hospitals reacted Friday to President Joseph Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates directed at the health care workers, who make up much of the Houston workforce. In a move that overrides Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive … Continue reading →

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Fired Methodist employees file another lawsuit

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In state court this time, in what should be one of the friendliest venues available to them. A new lawsuit filed Monday in Montgomery County against Houston Methodist claims the hospital wrongfully terminated 62 employees over their COVID-19 vaccine requirement. The suit, filed … Continue reading →

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More on the Memorial Hermann and Baylor vaccination mandates

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Memorial Hermann: Get your shots or get out. Memorial Hermann on Monday said it will require all employees to be vaccinated by Oct. 9, becoming the third Houston healthcare institution to do so. The hospital system follows Baylor College of … Continue reading →

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More hospital systems to require vaccines

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Memorial Hermann officials are finalizing details on its mandatory vaccine policy for employees. During a radio interview Wednesday, Dr. David L. Callender, president and CEO, said the system will soon announce the timeline for its employees to become … Continue reading →

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The fourth wave

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not ready. One local hospital is reinstating visitor limits and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is mulling a change to the county’s threat level amid a wave of COVID-19 variant cases that medical leaders warned Tuesday could overwhelm area … Continue reading →

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Methodist anti-vaxxers officially fired

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. More than 150 Houston Methodist Hospital employees resigned or have been fired as of Tuesday over a recent policy that required hospital employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday. All told, … Continue reading →

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Methodist anti-vaxxers appeal lawsuit dismissal

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. A group of Houston Methodist employees who sued the hospital system over its COVID-19 vaccine requirement have appealed a ruling dismissing the case. Over the weekend, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes tossed the lawsuit, calling it “reprehensible” … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over Methodist Hospital vaccination mandate tossed

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit against Houston Methodist over its policy to terminate workers who refuse to get the COVID vaccine, calling it “reprehensible” that plaintiffs compared the requirement to those made under Nazi Germany. … Continue reading →

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Will Methodist fire its unvaccinated workers?

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In two weeks, if they haven’t gotten vaccinated, the answer is Yes. Dozens of cheering supporters gathered outside the Houston Methodist Baytown campus Monday evening as several medical workers who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine ended their last shifts … Continue reading →

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Houston’s hospitals are still busy

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. While local hospital leaders aren’t sounding the alarm about capacity concerns, we heard a similar story from leaders at St. Luke’s and Houston Methodist: hospital beds and emergency rooms are regularly filling up as both health systems continue to … Continue reading →

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Houston Methodist tells its employees to get vaxxed or else

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Four out of five Houston Methodist employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. The sliver who are not will be suspended or fired if they refuse the shot, according to company policy. The hospital required managers to be … Continue reading →

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We’ve got all kinds

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not the kind of distinction you want. Houston is the nation’s first city to record every major variant of the novel coronavirus — many of which are more contagious than the original strain. “The numbers of the major variants we … Continue reading →

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More COVID restrictions are about to happen in Harris County

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Blame Greg Abbott and the virus, in whatever order you prefer. Houston and its surrounding communities on Tuesday became the latest region to require new emergency restrictions after seven straight days of ballooning coronavirus hospitalizations. The rollback, mandated under Gov. … Continue reading →

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It’s still not too late to prevent a big spike in COVID infections

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But it will be soon. A rise in COVID-19 cases has health care officials and government leaders pleading with Houstonians: Act now to prevent, or at least minimize, a third wave of infections across Greater Houston. “This feels a lot … Continue reading →

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“On the cusp” of another COVID surge

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The numbers are already trending up. You know what that means. Cases of COVID-19 in parts of Texas surged to near catastrophic levels this summer as some hospitals were forced to put beds in hallways, intensive care units exceeded capacity … Continue reading →

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No smokers need apply

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, is this a big can of worms. Methodist Hospital System in Houston this month announcedit will implement a tobacco-free hiring policy on Jan. 1, joining the Texas Medical Center and Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, which have had similar policies … Continue reading →

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