Hospitals

So far the state has paid to hire more than 8,000 contract health care workers as hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Texas approach the record set last winter.

The infusions are more available and accessible to Texans than ever before, and new criteria for who can receive antibody treatment have led more doctors to prescribe it.

Though cases and hospitalizations appeared to flatten this week, officials say the area is likely to see numbers surge over the next few weeks.

More than 200 kids are now in Texas hospitals. That's higher than previous peaks during the pandemic.

“It’s going to be close,” one health official said as a record number of Texas hospitals run out of intensive care beds and warn that they may soon have more COVID-19 patients than they can handle.

EMS workers are understaffed, but their call volume is skyrocketing, Selena Xie says.

Hospitals have hundreds of empty positions and a fraction of the workforce they need at the worst possible time, officials told legislators on Tuesday.

The lack of available nurses has driven up salaries and created a heated, competitive job market as thousands of positions remain open throughout Texas.

The number of beds available at ICU units in the area hit 13 on Wednesday, state data showed. The previous low was 23 beds in July 2020.

Since January, hospitals were supposed to be disclosing true prices for their services, as a way to empower patients to shop around. Turns out, compliance is spotty and the data can be hard to find.