Maternal health care in Texas is a story of feast and famine. The state has world-class medical facilities and specialists, but half of all counties lack even one maternal health care provider. Texas women are more likely to be uninsured, miss routine check-ups and die during pregnancy and childbirth than in almost any other state.
The outlook is even worse in rural Texas, where a quarter of women live more than 30 miles from the nearest provider. If Texas can’t find a way to help women get health care close to home, the ripple effects will be felt statewide.
Texas’ leaders recognize that healthy pregnancies create healthy families. But what are they doing to address these growing gaps, and the women who fall through them?
Join The Texas Tribune at noon Tuesday, April 22 at UMC Health & Wellness Hospital in Lubbock when we’ll examine the successes and struggles of strengthening maternal health in rural Texas communities, from the people who are on the front lines, and hear about how improving women’s health outcomes helps everyone, no matter where they live.
Â
Confirmed speakers include Lisa Dillard, director of the Maternal & Infant Health Initiative for March of Dimes West Texas and Jill Shanklin, vice president for nursing excellence at UMC Health System, Lubbock; and Dr. Lauren Swartz, family physician at Covenant Health Plainview.Â
The event will be moderated by the Tribune's women's health reporter Eleanor Klibanoff and hosted by Lubbock-based Tribune reporter Jayme Lozano Carver.Â
Doors open at 11:30 a.m. for registration and lunch, provided by The Texas Tribune.
Â
This in-person event will be simultaneously streamed for virtual attendees and will be available to watch on demand at texastribune.org/events.
Email us at events@texastribune.org
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Saucedo-Herrera is the president and CEO of greater:SATX, a regional economic partnership charged with growing and diversifying the eight-county San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA. During her seven-year tenure at the helm of San Antonio’s economic development team, greater:SATX has secured over 23,000 jobs for the region through recruitment and expansion projects that include work with Ernst & Young, Victory Capital, Navistar and Aisin.
Kamerlander is president and CEO of the Greater San Marcos Partnership. He formerly served as director of Lockhart Economic Development, where he developed the city’s first economic development strategic plan to promote Lockhart as a destination for job creation and investment. The successful program saw the development of a LEDC-owned 75 acre-acre industrial park housing Lockhart’s most recent announcement, The Ziegenfelder Company, a frozen treat manufacturer. The project included a $46 million investment and is creating 100 new jobs.
Latson is the CEO of Opportunity Austin. Previously, he founded and served as executive director for ARMA, the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, a business group focused on strengthening the advanced manufacturing community through advocacy, workforce development and networking. Latson is also a member of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Semiconductor Taskforce.
Packer is president and CEO of the New Braunfels Chamber, a membership organization representing more than 1,600 businesses. The chamber advocates for sound public policy, serves as the destination marketing organization for New Braunfels and manages Confluence, a public-private economic development initiative.
Cisneros is chair of the infrastructure investment firm American Triple I. He is also vice chair of the board of directors and equity owner of Shank Williams Cisneros & Co. LLC and principal of Siebert Williams Shank & Co. LLC. He was mayor of San Antonio from 1981-89 and secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton from 1993-97.
