Health Care

Taylor Orcutt was born with a left arm that ends at her elbow, but she refused to let anything stop her from her dream of becoming a pediatrician.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. Because of the rising prevalence of heart disease and high blood pressure among Black women, the American Medical Association is launching a new campaign called “Release the Pressure.”

It’s not government healthcare. People won’t be asked anything about insurance or income. It’s the first municipality in Texas, and maybe the nation, to figure out a way to help get every resident medical attention at no cost to them.

Testing for COVID-19 has plummeted across the globe, making it much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread. Experts say testing has dropped by 70 to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of this year — the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.

Some North Texas moms took part in a program that helps other families by donating breast milk.

Abortion rights groups have been demonstrating across North Texas, including outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Plano and in Downtown Dallas.

Since Sept. 1, most abortions have been halted in the state because of the Texas legislature's so-called Fetal Heartbeat Law. It bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected around six weeks. But Midlothian’s ordinance tries to take it a step further banning all abortions.

The declaration allowed access to free testing and free vaccines for those who needed it most but could afford it least. Telehealth medicine was expanded under the public health emergency declaration and was covered by Medicaid expansion, which also meant more connections between doctors and patients vulnerable to a host of medical problems. But that all could soon come to an end.

3-year-old Tinslee Lewis, whose mother has waged a court battle to keep doctors from removing her from life-sustaining treatment, has improved enough that she was released from the hospital last week and will now be cared for at home.

A 16-year-old from Midland celebrated a major milestone in his cancer fight. He’s become the 3000th patient to receive a specialized type of radiation at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy in Las Colinas. “I feel really good. I feel closer back to myself."