Contents tagged with TWHC

  • Advocating for women's health in the 86th Texas Legislature

    Tags: Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition, CHIP, children's medicaid, HTW, TWHC, Texas legislative session

    Friday, November 16, 2018 4:03:00 PM
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    By Evelyn Delgado
    Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition Chair and Healthy Futures of Texas President/Executive Director

    The texas women’s healthcare coalition is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of women, babies, and families by ensuring access to preventive care — including contraception — for all Texas women. Our membership includes health care organizations, provider organizations, advocacy organizations, and faith organizations from across the state. We strive toward our mission by working with state legislators on women’s health policy issues, educating the public on the landscape of women’s health in Texas, and through building relationships with state agency leaders to improve the programs serving Texas women.

    Since its formation, TWHC has advocated for priority issues during each Texas legislative session with the goal of improving access to women’s health services. The No. 1 priority is always to protect funding for the state’s women’s health programs and advocate for more funding to meet the statewide need for family planning and preventive health services.

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  • Addressing Texas’ maternal mortality crisis

    Tags: Janet Realini, Healthy Futures of texas, TWHC, Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition, 85th Legislative Session, Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force, maternal mortality, MMMTF

    Tuesday, December 5, 2017 5:00:00 AM
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    Janet Realini, MD, MPH

    As is often the case in Texas politics, there was little agreement during the 85th Legislative Session on which steps are necessary to address the state’s many health care challenges. One area that did see agreement, though, was the recognition that far too many mothers in Texas get sick or die during pregnancy or within a year of a pregnancy ending. Unlike the decline of mortality rates internationally, U.S. maternal mortality rates have been increasing, and Texas’ maternal death rate infamously doubled between 2010 and 2012.

    Thankfully, the Legislature moved during special session to extend the state’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force, which plays an important role in identifying and addressing the core issues contributing to maternal death and severe illness.

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