Elena Rivera
Health ReporterElena Rivera is the health reporter at KERA.
Before joining KERA, Elena covered health in Southern Colorado for KRCC and Colorado Public Radio. Her stories covered pandemic mental health support, rural community health access issues and vaccine equity across the region. She also worked as a daily show producer with Georgia Public Broadcasting and a reporter and host with Blue Ridge Public Radio. She has won awards for arts and culture reporting, podcasting and team coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Elena got her start as a reporter and producer at KBIA, Mid-Missouri’s NPR station. She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Outside of her public radio work, she serves as a mentor to emerging audio producers and reporters as the captain of the New Voices program with the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR).
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More than 140 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced by Texas lawmakers this legislative session. That political backdrop has made events like this past weekend's annual Pride picnic in Fort Worth that much more important.
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Native Americans in the United States experience higher rates of mental health issues than their white counterparts. Texas Native Health is expanding mental health services to meet the needs in the state.
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New parents in Texas will now be able to access doctor’s appointments up to a year after giving birth. A bill currently awaiting the governor’s signature extends postpartum Medicaid coverage from two months to twelve months.
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Dr. Ximena Lopez, a pediatric endocrinologist in Dallas, has been at the forefront of gender-affirming medical care for trans youth in Texas for the past 10 years. Now, as the state prepares to ban this care for minors, Lopez announced she’s closing her practice and moving to California.
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A new study from UT Austin shows the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on maternal health in Texas.
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The measure now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature. The ACLU of Texas has already vowed to sue.
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Gender-affirming health care is a large focus of this year’s legislative session, with bills like SB 14 that would ban care for minors in the state and penalize doctors offering this care. Families, trans youth and advocates share how it’s felt to live in Texas during this moment of uncertainty.
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The mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets was the 17th mass shooting in Texas this year. Tabatha Gunn is a counselor in Dallas who works with trauma survivors. She says trauma events like this can show up in the way people feel and act, even months later.
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If Senate Bill 14 becomes law, Texas would prohibit the administration of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender youth under 18 years old. On Monday, the bill received final approval from the Texas House, with several Democrats voting with their Republican colleagues. It now heads back to the Texas Senate for review.
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LGBTQ-rights activists flooded the Texas Capitol Tuesday ahead of an expected vote on Senate Bill 14, which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The House debate was delayed, and the measure will likely be taken up by the chamber later this week.
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Since it began in 2022, a partnership between Children's Health and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute has trained 75 health professionals in Dallas-Fort Worth through online modules and in-person case study discussions.
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Researchers from the University of North Texas at Dallas are gathering more than 20 community partners over the next few months to discuss what they learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.