CBS Texas Lands Emmy Nod for Stories on Burnett School of Medicine at TCU Maternal Health Research
CBS Texas’ “Survival of the Smallest” Series Featured Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University Iron Pill Research and Tarrant County Maternal & Infant Health Coalition Initiatives.
FORT WORTH – A series on the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University’s iron pill research in collaboration with UT Southwestern Medical Center and medical student research on maternal health in North Texas landed CBS Texas an Emmy® nomination in the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 2025 Lone Star Emmys®.
CBS Texas’s feature stories and microsite called, “Survival of the Smallest” examined efforts by Fort Worth and Tarrant County to address high maternal and infant morbidity and mortality rates. The stories were nominated in the Lone Star Emmys® Health/Medical News category.
The three-part video series highlighted the work of Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker’s Tarrant County Maternal & Infant Health Coalition’s (MHIC) efforts with the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU along with universities, health systems, and community organizations to create maternal health programs in North Texas. The coalition is using medical research and novel access to care programs to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
The video series focused on Fort Worth’s 76104 ZIP code, which had the highest infant mortality rate of any zip code in the United States, according to Tarrant County Public Health data. It also has some of the worst maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the country.
Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., the Founding Dean of Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, was featured in a story about the medical school’s iron pill research with UT Southwestern. It highlighted the benefits of UT Southwestern’s initial iron pill study with more than 13,000 patients at Parkland Health. The study showed about one-third of the pregnant women given iron supplements did not experience Severe Obstetric Complications (SOCs) that can be fatal during childbirth.
The Burnett School of Medicine plans to scale the research by providing free iron supplements to pregnant women across North Texas. It will help improve maternal morbidity and reduce poor outcomes for moms and infants during and after childbirth.
The stories also featured research projects related to maternal health by Burnett School of Medicine medical students alongside faculty members, April Bleich, M.D., Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology; David Riley, M.D., Assistant Professor; and Terri Weinman, D.O., Assistant Professor at the medical school.
The winners will be announced on Saturday, November 15, 2025, during the 2025 Lone Star Emmys® Award Show. View the Survival of the Smallest series here.