Texas firefighters are supposed to be covered by workers’ compensation insurance if they develop cancer. In the last seven years, 146 of 168 firefighters with cancer learned that is not the case.
Children's Health
Study finds big differences in infant mortality within Texas cities and between its ZIP codes
As a state, Texas’ infant mortality rate is below the national average, at 5.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. But within the state, some communities experience much higher rates, with stark differences between ZIP codes sitting only a few miles apart.
Affordable Care Act
New NACCHO president on Zika, equity & the ACA: ‘We can’t do this alone. We have to do it together’
Umair Shah’s story isn’t an uncommon one in public health. Starting out in medicine, with a career as an emergency department doctor, he said it quickly became clear that most of what impacts our health happens outside the hospital and in the community.
Government
In the fight for a rest break, Dallas construction workers find their voice: ‘This is not the end, but a stepping stone to something bigger’ (rerun)
While The Pump Handle is on holiday break, we are republishing some of our favorite posts from the past year. This one is from May 2016: Last summer, 25-year-old Roendy Granillo died of heat stroke while he installed flooring in a house in Melissa, Texas, just north of Dallas. His tragic and entirely preventable death marked a turning point in advocacy efforts to pass a rest break ordinance for local construction workers.
The 5-3 Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt last week was a welcome step for women’s health, but resulted in the removal of only some of the barriers many US women still face in accessing abortion services.
Everything’s bigger in Texas — including the number of Texans without health insurance. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of uninsured Texas residents has dropped by 30 percent. That means the Texas uninsured rate has hit its lowest point in nearly two decades.
Child Labor
In the fight for a rest break, Dallas construction workers find their voice: ‘This is not the end, but a stepping stone to something bigger’
Last summer, 25-year-old Roendy Granillo died of heat stroke while he installed flooring in a house in Melissa, Texas, just north of Dallas. His tragic and entirely preventable death marked a turning point in advocacy efforts to pass a rest break ordinance for local construction workers.
Environmental Health
Study: Fracking wastewater wells more likely located near communities of color and poverty
During the years that community health researcher Jill Johnston lived and worked in San Antonio, Texas was experiencing an explosion of fracking. She and the community partners she worked with on environmental health issues had a strong hunch that most of the fracking wastewater wells were being located near communities of color. So, they decided to dig a little deeper and quantify the pattern.
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee hears about regulatory shortcomings related to the Texas fertilizer plant explosion; 70 clothing retailers agree to a legally binding plan for safety inspections at Bangladesh factories supplying their clothing; and Hyatt and the UNITE HERE union reach a tentative agreement.
A few recent pieces worth a look