Texas is the fastest-growing state in the country, adding four million people over the last decade. But healthcare options in rural communities remain scarce.
Many rural hospitals are closing, and the pandemic has taken a toll on the small workforce serving remote residents.
"Even in the pre-pandemic era, Texas rural communities had difficulty accessing healthcare services because of travel time, limited number of providers and high rates of under-insured and uninsured residents," said Dr. Stacey Silverman with Texas A&M University. During the height of the pandemic, some rural hospitals had to close their ERs due to staffing limitations and bed shortages.Dr. Russell Thomas Jr. is a primary care physician in Eagle Lake, a southeast Texas town with a population of just over 3,000. He says telemedicine has helped some, but there are limitations to what it can do.According to the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals, there are three million rural Texans. That’s about the population of the state of Arkansas.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Teen Activists Take on Texas Abortion Bans: 'They Are the Future of Texas'After learning about legislation restricting abortion in her home state of Texas, 17-year-old Annabel Yu founded Change 4 Choice, selling merch to fundraise for Planned Parenthood. The latest in our FutureIsMs series, from SayItForwardNow:
Read more »
Analysis: Rural Texas hospitals still searching for a remedyThe good news is that no rural hospitals in Texas have closed in the last two years. The bad news? They’re still in crisis mode, and the state government is still struggling to find a remedy. From rossramsey.
Read more »
Analysis: Rural Texas hospitals still searching for a remedyThe good news is that no rural hospitals in Texas have closed in the last two years. The bad news? They’re still in crisis mode, and the state government is still struggling to find a remedy.
Read more »
In Texas, A Group Claiming To Be Cherokee Faces Questions About AuthenticityThe Mount Tabor Indian Community and a statue they helped erect are examples of serious failures by officials to vet claims to Indigenous nation status, federally recognized tribal leaders say.
Read more »
Letters to the Editor — Tenants’ rights, critical race theory, Texas CPS, fossil fuels, poll workersRe: “Tenant wins against all odds — Judge awards $5,000 in damages to woman struggling for years to get her apartment repaired,” Thursday Metro & Business...
Read more »
Stanford ends Texas’ run, advances to Final FourThe Longhorns fell to the defending champions, extending their Final Four drought to 19...
Read more »