This article was produced with support from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2021 Domestic Violence Impact Reporting Fund.
Race and Equity
An examination of shortfalls in Texas' oversight of the state hospital waitlist spotlights unreliable data and records that aren’t kept, like the race and ethnicity of people on the waitlist and how many die each year before getting to the hospital.
By October 2021, the number of people stuck in jail waiting for a state hospital bed had grown to a new record of 1,838 people.
Maiya Ossipova was a divorced woman in her early forties with three kids when she met her future American husband on a dating website.
In Texas, those charged with crimes and found mentally incompetent are entitled to treatment at a state hospital before returning to jail and standing trial. The failing system waitlists hundreds. Sometimes they die sooner than receiving treatment.
"There used to be a time when license plates had numbers on it for each county based on population and Pulaski County was one and Jefferson County and Mississippi County were two and three."
This story was written by SweSwe Aye while participating in the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism's 2021 California Fellowship.
Her other stories include:
Part 1: Burmese American Community's Vaccination Efforts
Part 2: Health and mortality impacts on Burmese Community by COVID-19 pandemic
This story was published in partnership with Mother Jones and The Fuller Project. Support for this reporting was provided by the USC Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism National Health Journalism Fellowship.
The survey from RAND finds a sizeable drop in awareness from last year's highs.
Black Oklahomans are 50% more likely than white Oklahomans to die from maternity-related complications. Black babies in Oklahoma are almost 2.5 times more likely than white babies to die before their first birthday.