Latest news with #TexasHealth
CBS News
5 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Collin County reports third measles case. Here's where the person was and when.
A third measles case has been reported in Collin County, health officials announced on Tuesday. The person who tested positive spent time around McKinney from May 19-22, officials said. Collin County Health Care Services didn't say how old the patient is or where they live. Possible measles exposure locations and dates: 24 Hour Fitness, 1601 North Hardin Blvd., McKinney, Texas on May 19 between 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and on May 21 between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Moviehouse & Eatery, 8450 SH 121, McKinney, Texas on May 19 between 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Cubana Grille, 4051 South Custer Rd., Suite 1160, McKinney, Texas on May 20 between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Market Street, 6100 Eldorado Pkwy., McKinney, Texas on May 22 between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. CCHCS said if anyone was at the locations on the specified times and dates, they should monitor themselves for measles symptoms through June 12 and talk to their healthcare provider. As of May 27, 729 measles cases have been confirmed in Texas since the outbreak was first reported in January, according to Texas Health and Human Services. Of those patients, 94 have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak. The first reported measles case in Collin County was in April. Symptoms of measles While most people's symptoms improve, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles will be hospitalized. About 1 out of every 1,000 children with measles will develop brain swelling that can lead to brain damage, and up to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected will die, the CDC says. Symptoms of measles include: High fever, up to 105°F Cough Runny nose Red, watery eyes Sore throat Rash: typically appears 3-5 days after initial symptoms, starting on the face and spreading downward
CBS News
11-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
How to get free mobile health screenings and services throughout North Texas
Affording healthcare services or screenings because of cost is something some people in North Texas know all too well. An event at a local church on Saturday provided the community with health services and free wellness items. From CPR training to vision and dental care, as well as mammograms, wellness exams, and cancer screenings, people got their healthcare needs met at Rising Star Baptist Church in Fort Worth for the second annual Wellness for Life Community Resource Day. CBS News Texas About 35 vendors gave out free food, diapers, and hygiene products, all while educating the community. Nina Burgos, director of Texas Health's Wellness for Life Mobile Health, said the event is crucial to make sure people get the care they need. "We know that access to preventative care can be challenging for individuals, so it's very important for us to be able to offer services out in this community so that community members can take advantage of these services and access to not only the health screenings but the education and resources that we have to offer," Burgos said. A walk-through colon, "Marge the Colon," showed the importance of early screenings to catch any issues. It demonstrated what Crohn's disease, polyps, and advanced cancer look like. Texas Health has mobile units traveling throughout the area if you missed the event. The program is ongoing in 14 North Texas counties. Click here for more information.
Forbes
06-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Measles Outbreak Updates: Here's Where Cases Are Spreading In The U.S.
More than 700 cases of measles have been confirmed in an outbreak across Texas, state health officials reported Tuesday, as other outbreaks of the highly contagious illness spread across dozens of other states. Most of the cases in the U.S. are centered in Texas. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Tuesday its number of measles cases, which date back to late January, had grown to 702, with 91 patients being hospitalized and two school-aged children confirmed dead from the illness since the start of the state's outbreak. Fewer than 10 of the confirmed cases are estimated to be actively infectious, according to Texas health officials. The Texas health department said 30 of the cases were in vaccinated people, with the remainder of the 672 sick patients being unvaccinated or having an unknown vaccination status. There have been 935 confirmed cases of measles across nearly 30 states so far this year, according to the latest update from the CDC on Friday, an increase of 51 over the previous week and far surpassing the 285 measles cases reported in the entirety of 2024 (the CDC does not provide data on how many cases are actively infectious). In New Mexico, which has the second-highest number of measles cases in the country, Lea County is home to 61 of the state's 67 confirmed cases, and is about 47 miles from Gaines County, Texas, where the majority of Texas' measles cases have been detected. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 46 confirmed cases as of Saturday, and Jill Bronaugh, the department's communications director, previously told Forbes genetic sequencing of one case is 'consistent' with a link to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts : We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. Where In Texas Is The Measles Outbreak? There have been 403 measles cases confirmed in Gaines County, a rural area about an hour-and-a-half west of Lubbock. Cases have reached double digits in Terry County (60), Lubbock County (51), El Paso County (44), Dawson County (26), Yoakum County (20), Lamar County (18), Cochran County (14) and Ector County (11) with a total of 29 Texas counties confirming cases of the illness. An eight-year-old girl died in Lubbock, Texas, of 'measles pulmonary failure' earlier this month after contracting the disease, The New York Times first reported. The hospital where she died, UMC Health System, confirmed the death to media outlets, noting the child was unvaccinated and did not have any underlying health conditions. An unvaccinated six-year-old also died of measles in February, marking the first death from measles in the U.S. in a decade. What Age Groups Is The Measles Outbreak Impacting In Texas? Some 255 of the cases have been among people aged five to 17, while 207 cases were among children younger than five and 219 were reported among adults aged 18 and above. The ages of 21 patients have not been stated. Where Are Measles Outbreaks In The U.s.? The CDC has reported 12 outbreaks (three or more related cases) in 2025, with 93% of confirmed cases (869 of the 935) being outbreak-associated. Cases in Kansas have been linked to New Mexico, which has cases connected to the Texas outbreak. Outside of triple or double-digit cases in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio and Pennsylvania, anywhere from one to nine cases have been confirmed by the CDC in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York City, New York state, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. What Are Measles Symptoms? Symptoms of measles include a fever, rash, cough, fatigue, runny nose and red eyes. The symptoms do not appear until 10 to 14 days after someone is exposed to the virus and can appear as late as 21 days after exposure. Measles is highly contagious and can spread from one person to nine out of 10 people close to them, according to the CDC, which notes a person infected with measles can spread it to others four days before through four days after the rash appears. Measles can spread through coughing, sneezing and infected surfaces and linger in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after infected people leave a given area. What Is The Isolation Protocol For Measles? People infected with measles should isolate for four days after they develop a rash, with the day of rash onset being considered day zero. Is There A Measles Vaccine? Yes, and it is highly effective and safe, according to the CDC. The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, which has been available for over half a century, is about 97% effective at preventing measles with the standard two doses and 93% effective with one dose. The vaccine is typically given to people when they are children, with one dose administered between 12 to 15 months and another administered between four to six years old. The vaccine generally provides long-term or lifelong protection. There is no problem with getting the vaccine if you are an adult unsure of their vaccination status, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told NPR. Adults born after 1957 and vaccinated before 1968 should consider getting revaccinated, NPR reported, noting early measles vaccines are not as effective. What Has Rfk Jr. Said About The Measles Outbreak And Vaccine? After initially claiming the measles outbreak was 'not unusual,' Kennedy changed his stance and considered it 'serious,' saying in a since-removed March 3 statement the outbreak 'is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health.' On April 6, Kennedy said the 'most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.' In a separate follow-up post, the HHS leader touted 'two extraordinary healers' who treated measles-sickened children in Texas with budesonide, an anti-inflammatory steroid, and clarithromycin, an antibiotic used on bacterial infections. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, told NPR that budesonide has no role in treating measles while clarithromycin is not the correct antibiotic for treating secondary bacterial infections from measles. Kennedy furthered his support for the vaccine in an interview with CBS News, saying, 'The federal government's position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine,' though he did not say the government should mandate the vaccine. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has also supported the use of vitamin A under the supervision of a physician to treat people with measles, creating concerns among health experts who have cautioned about the vitamin's effectiveness. Sue Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told The Washington Post that solely relying on vitamin A instead of the MMR vaccine is 'dangerous and ineffective' and can put children at risk, noting too much vitamin A can 'cause serious health problems, including liver damage.' Crucial Quote 'Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities,' according to The Texas Department of State Health Services. Key Background The Texas measles outbreak began in late January with just two cases and has become the state's largest outbreak of the virus in 30 years. The Texas Department of State Health Services said in a report of student immunization status for the 2023-2024 school year that 5.64% of Texas kindergarten students were not vaccinated for measles, while 2.34% of seventh graders had not received the vaccine. Measles was fully eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, according to the CDC, meaning the virus was not spreading within the country and new cases only came from people who contracted measles abroad and returned to the U.S. In 2024, a total of 285 measles cases were reported across 33 states. Measles cases are rising in the U.S. Do adults need a vaccine booster? (NPR)
CBS News
05-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
After a double bypass, North Texas heart patient finds renewed health and friends through cardiac rehab
Despite facing severe coronary artery disease requiring double bypass surgery, a patient at Texas Health Cardiac Rehabilitation Center found renewed health and formed a lasting bond with his therapists, inspiring them to start a running group and complete races together. More than 20 million Americans are living with coronary artery disease, a condition that leads to more than 600,000 deaths every year. Those numbers from the National Institute of Health are sobering, but it doesn't have to be a death sentence. "It starts with a single step and it starts with a single workout, then a week worth of workouts, then a month worth of workouts," said Eric Prisbell. Prisbell's journey to a new lease on life started when he realized that after more than a few steps, he could hardly breathe. "I tried to jog around the block and my heart rate would spike immediately to 195," said Prisbell. He knew something was wrong. "It turned out, after visits to my doctor, that one artery was 100% blocked and the other one was 75% blocked," said Prisbell. Finding hope in cardiac rehab After double bypass surgery, Prisbell visited the Texas Health Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. That's where he met Sierra Proctor and Jaclyn Raiback. "He's awesome," said Raibeck, a registered nurse with Texas Health. "We just latched on to him," said Proctor, an exercise physiologist at Texas Health. Prisbell's goal was to run a 5k just a few months after his double bypass. That got the gears turning in Proctor and Raibeck's heads. "A bunch of us here just kind of talked about, like, why don't we start running together," said Raiback Beyond the finish line "Now we've created a little group and continue that bond with Eric outside of him graduating from cardiac rehab," said Proctor. The three have run four 5ks and one 10k together. But their relationship goes far beyond running. "He was our patient, now he's our friend," said Raiback. They're getting healthier together, and for Prisbell, the father of three, that's his number one priority. "Being there for my kids, especially with my daughter when she gets older. Walking her down the aisle, knowing that I have a second chance and I made the most of it," he said.
CBS News
24-04-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Are Texas nonprofit hospitals providing adequate charity care?
When Deborah Hernandez went to the hospital in December of 2023 with abdominal pain, she wasn't expecting a cancer diagnosis or what would become a year-long struggle to pay down the resulting debt. But doctors told her she had ovarian cancer and needed 14 rounds of chemotherapy. So, she quit her job at the elementary school where she worked with special education students. "Any school kid's going to carry a lot of germs," Hernandez said. "I couldn't go to work because I didn't have the white cells to fight off germs." That left her without a paycheck, relying solely on Social Security to cover her expenses. "I have to sit and think, who am I going to pay," Hernandez said. "I have to keep the lights on, the water running and the gas on. What do I do after that? If the money runs out, it just runs out. When the I-Team first spoke with Hernandez, she told us her medical bills had soared past $300,000. Medicare was covering much of it, but she still faced out-of-pocket expenses, including a $315 bill from Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Hernandez faxed a charity care application to the hospital for relief. She says a few days later someone from the hospital called her to tell her she shouldn't have faxed in the application and to let her know it was denied. "It's a big stress," Hernandez said. "There will be times when I wake up in the middle of the night and be like, how am I going to get out of this debt." How charity care is supposed to work Nearly one in four Texans struggle with medical debt. Charity care is supposed to offer help. In exchange for massive tax breaks, nonprofit hospitals are supposed to assist patients who can't afford to pay their bills. Texas nonprofit hospitals receive over $1.8 billion in tax benefits annually, according to IRS data. In return, according to the Texas Hospital Association, the state's 127 nonprofit hospitals provided $9.1 billion in community benefits in 2022. That amount includes $576 million more in charity care than what hospitals say is the common industry standard. Texas is one of the five states that sets a minimum community benefit. And the Texas Hospital Association says that while Texas "boasts one of the most stringent charity care laws in the nation," the state's hospitals "go well beyond" legal obligations. But in recent years, the system has come under scrutiny. System under scrutiny The CBS News Texas I-Team reviewed more than half a dozen independent reports on charity care provided by nonprofit hospitals. Some, including one from the Baker Institute, found that Texas nonprofit hospitals "provide relatively high levels of charity care compared to the rest of the country." Others came to a different conclusion. "Nonprofit hospitals enjoy the benefits of tax-exempt status while not providing a proportional amount of community benefit through charity care," a report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation found. "They'll make it seem like everything is hunky-dory," said Tanner Aliff with the Paragon Health Institute. "There are just a few researchers, myself included, that would want to challenge that." Aliff has studied nonprofit hospitals for years. He says the hospitals' self-reported numbers can be misleading because of what hospitals consider community benefit. Community benefit spending doesn't just include helping patients with their bills. It can also mean funding research, community outreach programs or educational campaigns that Aliff says are really just marketing. A 2020 federal government audit highlighted how "the law is unclear what community benefit activities hospitals should engage in to justify their tax exemption." Five years later, Congress has still not passed legislation to clarify. "There is a huge kind of black box around charity care and community benefit around hospitals right now," Aliff said. "And that's where a lot of folks here in Texas want to get to the heart of, because we are hearing horror stories throughout the state of nonprofits not living up to their charity mission." Texas Rep. Tom Oliverson filed a bill in the Texas House that would prevent hospitals from pursuing debt collections on any patients until the hospital verifies that the patient is not eligible for charity care. As it stands now, nonprofit hospitals are only required to post that they offer charity care by putting up a sign in the lobby and by taking out an ad once a year in the newspaper. A resolution for Hernandez For more than a year, Hernandez has been stressed about her unpaid medical bills. But just days after the I-Team reached out to the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, she received a letter from the hospital saying it had taken a look at her request for charity care, and this time approved it. "I can actually go to sleep at night now, where I would lay awake at night or I'd wake up at two in the morning," Hernandez said. " So, yeah, that's a big relief." In an email, a Texas Health spokesperson wrote that the hospital proactively assesses patients for charity care, even in cases where a financial assistance application has not been completed.
