Public Health
Requests for abortion pills surged amid threats to reproductive rights, UT-based study shows
Advance requests for abortion medication surged when the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked, a new study has found. The study in JAMA Internal Medicine looked at requests for the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol from the telemedicine service…
Public Health • By Olivia Aldridge, KUT • Jan 8, 2024
Need for county mental health diversion center grows
Travis County’s mental and behavioral health diversion center is more than five years from opening and needed more every day, the Commissioners Court learned Tuesday. With an epidemic of mental illness and an overcrowded Travis County Jail, commissioners said the…
Public Health • By Ken Chambers • Nov 30, 2023
Huston-Tillotson University wants to improve maternal health outcomes by training more doulas
Huston-Tillotson University is launching a program that will train doulas, midwives and lactation consultants in an effort to combat Texas’ high maternal mortality rates, especially among Black women. The historically Black university announced the new partnership with Blue Cross and…
Public Health • By Olivia Aldridge, KUT • Sep 20, 2023
Council approves push to make air conditioning a requirement in Austin
This summer, a stretch of hot, dry weather in Austin has tested everyone’s patience. The record-high heat has also posed a danger to those not lucky enough to feel the relief of air conditioning. A new City Council resolution looks…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 1, 2023
Austin provides shelter in freezes but not in triple-digit heat – and advocates want change
Austin’s triple-digit temperatures – 44 days in a row as of Sunday – have been near-unbearable for people living outdoors. And with the heat streak likely to continue well into next week, a group of nonprofits is asking the city…
Public Health • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Aug 21, 2023
Greg Casar calls for national standard to prevent heat-related illness, deaths on construction sites
Amid an oppressive summer, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar is calling on the federal government to enact stricter protections for workers to ensure they don’t suffer heat-related illness on the job. Casar, a former City Council member whose congressional district includes…
Public Health • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jul 25, 2023
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West Nile virus was found in mosquitoes in Austin. Here's what to know.
For the first time this year, a pool of mosquitoes in Austin has tested positive for West Nile virus, according to Austin Public Health. The positive pool was located in the 78721 ZIP code of East Austin. West Nile is…
Public Health • By Haya Panjwani, KUT • Jun 30, 2023
Incarcerated Travis County residents at drastically higher risk of accidental overdose death
People who have been incarcerated in Travis County die of accidental overdoses at drastically higher rates than the overall population, according to new data. On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court held a news conference in conjunction with the Travis…
Public Health • By Nina Hernandez • Jun 28, 2023
ECHO says permanent supportive housing is the only way out of Austin's homelessness crisis
Austin’s Ending Community Homelessness Coalition joined City Council’s Public Health Committee this month to break down the nonprofit’s latest point-in-time count, which in late January found 2,374 Austinites experiencing some degree of homelessness. While that figure is down from 2020,…
Public Health • By Kali Bramble • Jun 26, 2023
Austin officials urge precautions to prevent new mpox surge
Austin Public Health is warning residents to be vigilant about preventing the spread of mpox, concerned about the potential for a resurgence of the virus. After months without any new cases detected, the health department confirmed a single new case…
Public Health • By Olivia Aldridge, KUT • Jun 26, 2023
What Austin and Travis County learned about rental assistance during the pandemic
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Austin and Travis County had no overarching infrastructure in place for distributing rental assistance or otherwise supporting low-income families at risk of eviction. Then, millions of people across industries lost their sources of…
Housing • By Nina Hernandez • Jun 22, 2023
Should Austin limit public contact with wild animals at for-profit zoos, aquariums?
The Animal Advisory Commission continues to grapple with language on a proposed ordinance that would limit public contact with wild animals at for-profit zoos and aquariums. At its June 12 meeting, the commission voted to convene a second working group…
