TYLER, Texas — A recent study places Texas near the bottom when it comes to women's health. The first time study by the Commonwealth Fund ranked the Lone Star State 49th in the nation in that category.
The study also ranked Texas 49th in healthcare quality and prevention, last for healthcare coverage, access, and affordability for women and 44th in the country for the number of reproductive medical providers.
"When people can afford insurance better, then I think we would not rank the way we rank in the state of Texas," City of Tyler District 3 Councilwoman Dr. Shirley McKellar said.
McKellar is on the board of the Greater East Texas Chapter of the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer and said awareness at a young age is a good start.
"It's important for us as clinicians to make sure that our people are educated as to when to have specific tests during their age growth," McKellar said.
Ebbie Starling, a retired registered nurse, said women need to be more open about their needs.
"What happens many times is that, if they are diagnosed, people may not know that they are having problems with finances and might need some help," Starling said. "We look at it as this is an embarrassment, this should not have happened. I don’t know how to handle it, but we have to reach out ourselves and reach out for help."
One issue is the lack of access to healthcare in rural areas, something that McKellar said needs to be thought about.
"We have to think about how we can get those people to healthcare," McKellar said.