HOUSTON METHODIST

Construction has begun on Houston Methodist’s newest hospital tower which will house a new and larger emergency department in the Texas Medical Center.

Rice University said Monday that it has joined forces with Houston Methodist to create a center where physicians, academic researchers and university students work side by side with student athletes, trainers and coaches to advance research and education in human performance.

According to the National Institutes of Health, contrast-enhanced mammography uses contrast material combined with the mammogram to highlight areas that might be breast cancer and that could be missed on the mammogram alone. This is similar to breast MRI.

A Houston Methodist doctor who was thrust into the spotlight in November after her privileges were suspended because of her views on vaccines and early treatment for COVID-19 has plans to file a lawsuit against the hospital system.

Mary Talley Bowden made national headlines after she was suspended from Houston Methodist...

Texas exhausts supply of monoclonal antibody treatment as omicron cases surge

The new Omicron variant appears to be spreading far more rapidly than delta, as Texas braces for another COVID surge.

Here are things to know for Thursday, Dec. 16:

Houston Methodist announced Wednesday that it has detected 54 cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 since early December.

Houston Methodist has identified eight cases of the omicron variant through its comprehensive virus genome sequencing surveillance project, a spokesperson for the hospital said.

Houston Methodist has suspended the privileges of a local doctor the hospital said was spreading dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 treatments.

Governor's order draws fire from Houston Methodist, the first big U.S. medical system to require employees to get shots.

Houston attorney Jared Woodfill, who currently represents almost 200 healthcare workers in multiple lawsuits against Methodist, said executive order GA-40 makes the hospital's policy illegal.

Touted as one of the best weapons in the battle to survive Covid 19

The unvaccinated employees fired from Novant Health for failing to comply with the mandatory coronavirus vaccination policy is latest in a series of health-care worker dismissals over covid-19 immunization.

Soleo Health said it was selected by Houston Methodist to provide monoclonal antibody treatment to COVID-19 patients in their homes.

At least six unvaccinated maternity staffers at Lewis County General Hospital in New York have resigned in recent days and seven others remain undecided on whether to get vaccinated.

There are a few factors that make us vulnerable to a bad flu season, and the main reason could be that people aren’t wearing masks like they did this time last year.

Houston Methodist is renewing its call for recovered COVID-19 patients to donate convalescent plasma.

The unprecedented hospital bed shortage continues across Southeast Texas as the Houston area sets a record for the number of daily new COVID-19 positive cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

After Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement Tuesday that he tested positive for Covid 19, his communications director says he is receiving the Regeneron antibody infusion therapy.Governor Abbott said he was not feeling any symptoms which has sparked some questions as to who is able to get the monoclonal antibody treatment.

Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital throws the smallest baby ever delivered a graduation ceremony after spending over 140 days in the NICU.

The CDC says nationally, the combined proportion of cases that are Delta is predicted to increase to 93 percent.

Houston Public Media spoke with Avery Taylor, the managing nurse at Houston Methodist’s highly infectious disease unit, about whether the current surge of infections feels different from previous ones.

Today, Monday July 26, single tickets go on sale starting at 11 a.m.  for Houston Ballet's return to the live performance stage with a mixed rep September program that will involve all the company members and a return of The Nutcracker in late November.

It’s a story of love and determination.

RWJBarnabas Health in May gave supervisors and other senior-level employees until the end of June to get shots.

Houston Methodist Hospital says it is seeing an “alarming spike” in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the Houston area.

The majority of cases at the hospital system are in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated patients.

DALLAS (AP) — More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement.

Now that Houston Methodist’s last-chance deadline for its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has passed, the hospital has announced that over 150 workers have either quit or have been fired for noncompliance.

Here are things to know for Wednesday, June 23:

Texas hospital system says 153 workers resigned or were fired after refusing COVID-19 vaccine

Just 25 employees chose to get vaccinated and return to work.

More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement.

While hospitalized, Lucio Arreola dove into songwriting as part of his therapy while waiting for a new heart. When he received a heart transplant, he made his new beat the base of a song.

HOUSTON (AP) — Jennifer Bridges, a registered nurse in Houston, is steadfast in her belief that it's wrong for her employer to force hospital workers like her to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or say[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Nurse says she'll take her fight to the Supreme Court after lower court rules Houston hospital may require vaccinations.

Jennifer Bridges, a registered nurse in Houston, is steadfast in her belief that it's wrong for her employer to force hospital workers like her to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or say goodbye to their jobs. In a stinging defeat, a federal judge bluntly ruled over the weekend that if employees of the Houston Methodist hospital system don't like it, they can go work elsewhere. The ruling Saturday in the closely watched legal case over how far health care institutions can go to protect patients and others against the coronavirus is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. But it won't be the end of the debate.

Here are things to know for Monday, June 14:

U.S. district judge Lynn N. Hughes said in his ruling that claims that the vaccines are dangerous are both "false" and "irrelevant."

Houston Methodist scored a legal victory Saturday night against a group of over 100 disgruntled employees when a federal judge threw out those workers’ lawsuit against the hospital chain over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes, the Ronald Reagan appointee who dismissed the lawsuit...

U.S. district judge Lynn N. Hughes said in his ruling that claims that the vaccines are dangerous are both "false" and "irrelevant."

U.S. district judge Lynn N. Hughes said in his ruling that claims that the vaccines are dangerous are both "false" and "irrelevant."

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Saturday from a group of Houston Methodist employees opposing the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Tens of thousands of health care employees face deadlines to get immunized or risk losing their jobs. Some are pushing back.

Employees at Houston Methodist who are unwilling to get the shot say the vaccines are unsafe and even "experimental." The hospital system's CEO says they're spouting "anti-vaccination rhetoric."

Employees at Houston Methodist who are unwilling to get the shot say the vaccines are unsafe and even "experimental." The hospital system's CEO says they're spouting "anti-vaccination rhetoric."

Here are things to know for Thursday, June 10:

Houston Methodist benches holdouts without pay a day after dozens protest COVID-19 immunization requirement.

Houston Methodist benches holdouts without pay a day after dozens protest COVID-19 immunization requirement.

Dozens of soon-to-be former Houston Methodist employees gathered at the hospital chain’s Baytown location Monday night to “walkout” in protest over the hospital’s requirement that all rank-and-file employees take any COVID-19 vaccine by June 7 if they want to keep their jobs.

Here are things to know for Monday, June 7:

Several Houston Methodist nurses and employees protested the vaccine requirement that goes into effect after Monday, June 7.

Houston Methodist Nurse Jennifer Bridges told the Houston Press in April she wasn’t willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine to keep her job. Now, Bridges and dozens of her coworkers are fighting back against the hospital chain’s vaccine requirement in court. On Friday, 117 Houston Methodist employees sued the hospital...

This Mother’s Day, the Houston Methodist Willowbrook campus is asking for all moms who have delivered a baby in the past year to donate breastmilk, if they can. Willing mothers will have to be within a year of birth because that’s when they make milk most suitable for premature babies.

Robert Powell says he woke up with two black eyes, a split lip and a bruised jaw.

On Tuesday's show: Houston Methodist requires employees to be vaccinated, Congressman Al Green fields your questions, physicist Brian Greene finds meaning amid the vastness of time, and former Houstonian Jen Shyu discusses her music.

On Tuesday's show: Houston Methodist requires employees to be vaccinated, Congressman Al Green fields your questions, physicist Brian Greene finds meaning amid the vastness of time, and former Houstonian Jen Shyu discusses her music.

Houston Methodist Hospital is now offering walk-in vaccines at all seven of its vaccine clinics.

A nurse of more than six years at Houston Methodist Baytown, who doesn’t want to be identified, said she is not okay with the hospital’s policy of requiring all employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

HOUSTON – Andrew Capen, 33, is the recipient of a miraculous double lung transplant after battling COVID-19. Houston Methodist Hospital said he is one of the longest surviving patients on ECMO, a machine that basically works in place of your lungs once they’ve been so damaged they won’t work anymore. Capen survived on ECMO for six months before receiving new lungs. While the end result is wonderful, Capen said it was a dark, lonely time in the hospital leading up to it. His surgeon, surgical director of lung transplantation at Houston Methodist Dr. Eddie Suarez, said it’s a difficult operation under normal circumstances but because Capen’s health was deteriorating it was almost impossible.

HOUSTON – From the day the pandemic spread to the Greater Houston region, Houston Methodist has studied positive COVID-19 test results looking for mutations. “They are spreading rapidly.”Houston Methodist is one of the only entities that look for the variants, what Dr. Olsen calls “a very complicated, intense computational process” that requires a lot of time and staff. “We’ve done more than 20,000 sequences, which by far is more than any other state in the United States,” Dr. Olsen said. Ad“We expect viruses to mutate, it’s what they do,” Dr. Olsen said. The Houston Methodist lab processes 3-5,000 COVID-19 tests per day from all eight Methodist hospitals, plus any affiliated emergency centers and clinics.

HOUSTON – Harris County health officials scrambled Monday to administer 8,430 doses of the coronavirus vaccine after a power outage caused some of the vials to thaw. That led to 8,430 doses of the Moderna vaccine to thaw. County officials contacted Moderna and were given guidance from the vaccine-maker that the remaining doses could be refrigerated and used later. Houston Methodist’s statementIn a statement, Houston Methodist officials said they had received 1,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the batch of thawed shots. Ad“We didn’t waste a drop,” said Robert Schwartz, executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital.

Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain, is offering $100 to each of its 500,000 workers who gets vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who can't get the vaccine due to medical or religious reasons will have the option of taking an educational and safety course to get the $100 bonus, Kroger stated. Other supermarket companies and retailers are also offering workers money to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Meat-processing company JBS is also offering workers $100 to get vaccinated. Even more lucrative is an offer from eight-hospital system Houston Methodist, which is giving its 26,000 workers an extra $500 in March so long as they get the COVID-19 vaccine.

HOUSTON – On Friday, Houston Methodist Hospital answered questions about the vaccine rollout during a virtual town hall. Health experts covered a range of topics but wanted to focus on helping educate communities of color about COVID-19. They have programs in the works, that include partnering with minority organizations and churches in to help spread the word about the vaccine. “Really the goal is to bring death down and ultimately control the pandemic,” said Dr. Marc Boom, the president and CEO of Houston Methodist. Arianne Dowdell, VP and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, was the moderator of the town hall.

HOUSTON – Houston Methodist held a COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall on Friday at 10 a.m. The town hall was designed to help people understand the COVID-19 vaccine and its rollout, particularly to help educate communities of color about the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Houston Methodist. Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, Dr. Victor Narcisse, associate division head of Hospital Medicine and Arianne Dowdell, vice president, chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer at Houston Methodist answered questions during the event. KPRC 2 broadcast a live stream of the 10 a.m. event. Watch it, in full, in the video player below.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)HOUSTON – Houston Methodist is hosting a free virtual town hall Friday to answer questions about the coronavirus vaccine. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and is open to anyone. Organizers said the goal of the event is to answer frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, including questions about its safety and availability. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Organizers said they plan on making these virtual town halls a regular occurrence.

HOUSTON – Houston Methodist is holding a clinic this weekend. Registration for the clinic was open to the public and publicized on a state website, hospital officials said. “We get it,” said Dr. Marc Boom, CEO of Houston Methodist. “We were selected by the state as a hub because we’ve gotten vaccines into arms so fast.”According to Boom, Methodist has administered 44,000 first doses and 13,000 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Boom said he is optimistic that there will be a faster acceleration of the vaccine’s arrival in a couple of weeks.

Houston Methodist's 26,000 workers can look forward to some extra cash in March — as long as they get a COVID-19 vaccine. Eligibility criteria to receive the award include getting a COVID-19 vaccination, "fulfilling our obligation as health care workers to lead the community," he stated. Houston Methodist also gave employees $500 bonuses about six weeks ago for their work during the pandemic, which has killed nearly 35,000 Americans. For now, vaccination isn't required for Houston Methodist employees, but "will be eventually" for most workers, Boom wrote. "I think people are more wanting it than not wanting it," said a spokesperson for Houston Methodist, who received her second dose of the vaccine on Monday.

Here’s a look at how Houston-area hospital systems plan to distribute the approved vaccines. Memorial HermannIn compliance with Texas’ guidance for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Memorial Hermann is prioritizing vaccine distribution to persons in Phase 1A and Phase 1B. As soon as the vaccine is more widely available, Memorial Hermann plans to offer it to its patients and members of the community. According to its website, vaccine distribution plans are determined by the FDA, CDC, and state and local health departments. University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) SystemOn Dec. 30, UTMB Health announced plans to expand its employee vaccination program to high-risk individuals.

HOUSTON – Houston area hospitals and clinics that offer COVID-19 vaccinations are currently evaluating how to prioritize patients who qualify to receive a vaccine under Phase 1B of the state’s rollout. “Phase 1B can be interpreted differently by different people. Houston Methodist said Thursday certain patients will soon start getting notifications to schedule appointments for their coronavirus shot. Officials said they will soon start notifying patients via a text message in the following order:Patients who are 75 or older. On Wednesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said vaccine providers can begin administering the vaccine to people in Phase 1B.

HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and City of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner received an update on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Houston Methodist Tuesday and visited with frontline healthcare workers receiving the vaccine. And while there is hope on the horizon, folks still need to get tested, folks need to cancel gatherings, folks need to make sure and wear their face coverings. And let me encourage other people in the city when your opportunity comes, let me encourage you to take the vaccine itself. Not to say no, not to delay, not to hold off, but when you’re able to take it, please take it. Thank you, health care providers.”

HOUSTON – The first coronavirus vaccines arrived in Houston and thousands of additional doses are expected on Tuesday. Healthcare workers are among the first to receive the shots and ProHealth Medical Staffing, a Houston company, helped in that process. She said about 30 of the company’s nurses and medical staff will help administer the vaccine to frontline workers at Houston Methodist. The Department of State Health Services said 19,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered to four sites across Texas on Monday, including MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Another 19 sites will receive 75,075 doses on Tuesday, including seven hospitals in the Houston region.

My partner in this joyful deception was an anonymous, wealthy businessman known to me only as Secret Santa. In a normal year, Secret Santa personally hands out hundreds of $100 bills to random strangers. "Open up that sealed envelope," Secret Santa told her. "And that's to make your Christmas just a little bit better," Secret Santa told Davis. "You know kindness, when freely given, with no expectation in return – is, in fact, unconditional love," Secret Santa said.

HOUSTON – The Houston Methodist Hospital is now administering the FDA emergency use authorization drug, bamlanivimab. There are three sites where the hospital offers monoclonal antibody infusions: Houston Methodist Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, Houston Methodist Sugar Land and Houston Methodist Continuing Care Facility near the West campus in Katy. Since the hospital system started this therapy on Friday, they said 50 patients have been treated. Sandy Zeluff said she was one of the first patients to receive this treatment. After her symptoms were getting progressively worse last week, she says she made a recovery within a day of infusion.

HOUSTON – Gordon Baker, 62, has devoted his life to caring for others and now he finds himself in the fight of his life. Baker has spent 28 years of his life as a paramedic, most recently with Harris County ESD 48 in Katy. Three weeks ago, Baker contracted the coronavirus and was admitted to Houston Methodist West Houston. He remained there for about two weeks until he was transported to Houston Methodist in the Texas Medical Center on Sunday night. Family, friends and loved ones held a prayer vigil for Baker on Sunday.

HOUSTON – Building on seven months of extensive data gathering, analysis and publication, the Texas Medical Center is updating its public dashboards to provide user-friendly information in tracking COVID-19 in greater Houston. The dashboard highlights the reproduction rate (rate at which COVID-19 is being spread), testing trends, number of overall positive cases, and ICU bed capacity, among other topics. KPRC 2 uses this information to keep news reports up-to-date for the nine counties the TMC serves. “There is no delay in the TMC data so when you look at testing data, positivity rate, people being hospitalized, you’re getting real-time data,” said Dr. Mark Boom, with Houston Methodist Hospital. President and CEO of TMC, Bill McKeon, said the real-time data shows proof when social distancing has worked.

Mott Children's Hospital, one-third of American parents have no plans to get their children vaccinated for the flu this year. The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) echoes the importance of getting the flu vaccine this year. Parents are also concerned about the possible side effects of the flu shots. "Among the 32% of parents who say their child is unlikely to get flu vaccine this year, the most common reasons include concerns about side effects from flu vaccine (42%) and belief that flu vaccine is not necessary (40%) or effective (32%). "Also in Texas, we have laws such that pharmacists can administer flu shots to kids.

So, they get this temporary heart failure and the symptoms can actually be pretty severe enough where they can almost mimic the signs of a heart attack, Adesina said. Cleveland Clinic researchers found cases of broken heart syndrome doubled in two of their hospitals in March and April, which is the same time the pandemic ramped up job losses, isolation and concerns surrounding coronavirus. They now believe extreme stress during the pandemic could be causing this increase of broken heart syndrome among the general public. He said its not just high emotions that can trigger broken heart syndrome but also an infection. That means both people with increased worries right now and those with a COVID-19 infection are at risk for this syndrome.

HOUSTON – A local family is hoping for a miracle to help their father heal from the coronavirus. Harris Rotman, 81, checked into Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center Monday with a high fever. “This could be a matter of life and death for my father and many other people that have reached out to me,” said his daughter Beth Rotman. Adding to their plight, the family said a plasma donation treatment being offered at several local hospitals is not an option for their father. She said the family and her father are ready to take the offer, if allowed.

Lawrence Barris told KPRC 2 reporter Rose-Ann Aragon he started to experience “sweats, shivers ... a lot of weakness,” and shortly after his symptoms started, Sharlene Barris also became ill. After their recovery, the couple said they were contacted by Houston Methodist about an opportunity to donate plasma to help future recovery. Sharlene Barris. "They've capped the number of people that can get the plasma," Sharlene Barris explained. “Keep moving forward on allowing that number [to rise].”The Barris family said they are still working on ways to advocate for patients in need.

We welcome you to the Countdown to the 2020 VYPE Awards presented by Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. Team and coach of the year awards will be announced LIVE during the VYPE Awards. Here are the awards and finalists for Private School Girls Cross Country. Houston Methodist offers comprehensive diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative services with a high standard of excellence for elite athletes, active adults and student athletes. Houston Methodist serves as the official health care provider for the Houston Texans, Houston Astros, Rice Athletics, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera.

Some stories even describe how people have fainted wearing masks or worse. Healthcare workers shifts are an average of 12 hours and they wear masks all day long. Wearing a regular cloth or surgical mask will not increase CO2 levels. Theres no real evidence that it can increase CO2 levels in healthy subjects. Psychologist William Orme from Houston Methodist said feelings of restriction or panic while wearing masks is possibly more because of anxiety and not due to different oxygen levels.

EMBED >More News Videos A public war of words has ensued between the two entities. The dispute could impact you. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Negotiations have failed between UnitedHealthcare and Houston Methodist, meaning patients with that medical insurance could receive a very large bill for care from Houston Methodist doctors or hospitals.Both parties were unable to reach an agreement by New Year's Day, which was the deadline.That means if you're treated at Methodist, you'll be charged out-of-network rates.UnitedHealthcare and Methodist have been trying to come to a deal, but were at odds over contract renewals. It also recommends patients undergoing treatment now should call United about continuing their services. The healthcare provider says those patients may be able to receive in-network rates for a limited time in the future.

EMBED >More News Videos A public war of words has ensued between the two entities. The dispute could impact you. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Negotiations have failed between UnitedHealthcare and Houston Methodist, meaning patients with that medical insurance could receive a very large bill for care from Houston Methodist doctors or hospitals.Both parties were unable to reach an agreement by New Year's Day, which was the deadline.That means if you're treated at Methodist, you'll be charged out-of-network rates.UnitedHealthcare and Methodist have been trying to come to a deal, but were at odds over contract renewals. It also recommends patients undergoing treatment now should call United about continuing their services. The healthcare provider says those patients may be able to receive in-network rates for a limited time in the future.

EMBED >More News Videos A public war of words has ensued between the two entities. The dispute could impact you. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Negotiations have failed between UnitedHealthcare and Houston Methodist, meaning patients with that medical insurance could receive a very large bill for care from Houston Methodist doctors or hospitals.Both parties were unable to reach an agreement by New Year's Day, which was the deadline.That means if you're treated at Methodist, you'll be charged out-of-network rates.UnitedHealthcare and Methodist have been trying to come to a deal, but were at odds over contract renewals. It also recommends patients undergoing treatment now should call United about continuing their services. The healthcare provider says those patients may be able to receive in-network rates for a limited time in the future.