GALVESTON — University of Texas Medical Branch is in full recovery mode, planning online and alternate class locations for students, off-island office operations for employees, off-island clinics and alternate hospital treatment centers.
The patchwork of off-island operations is temporary, until the 70 buildings on this 84-acre campus are ready for the return of more than 2,900 students and 1,000 faculty members.
A core staff remains in Galveston, guiding clean-up and research preservation programs, with the of opening the John Sealy Hospital at least two months away.
“We’ve hit a bump with the effects of this storm, but it’s not stopping us,” said Dr. Karen Sexton, executive vice president and chief executive officer of health systems. “We’re going to be back for our students, our staff, our patients.
“At the end of each day, we’re going to be better and stronger.”
Sexton, who has worked at UTMB for seven years, spoke from the medical branch’s “command table,” a conference table set up in the administrative building with eight laptops and eight phones.
“We’ve all bonded around this command table, 24 hours a day,” she said.
The building has an emergency power supply, so staff have a few fans to cool down temperatures, but few other conveniences.
“Our dress code has taken on a different meaning now,” Sexton said. “Right now, it’s ‘stay as cool as you can.’”
Hospital scrubs, flip-flops and shorts are the usual attire.
Here’s a summary of her description of UTMB’s recovery:
• John Sealy Hospital will not be in full operation for at least 60 days. The emergency room is open on a limited basis. A federal Disaster Medical Assistant Team is proving basic care, but capacity is limited. The ER has power, but no air-conditioning.
Damage to the hospital has been caused by some 4 feet of water surging into the first floor. Water flooded elevators as well, along with the blood bank, the pharmacy and sterile processing areas. Mud will have to be cleaned out, damaged walls removed and replaced, furniture replaced and power and air conditioning restored.
UTMB off-island clinics are open, including the Texas City Clinic, League City Pediatrics and Family Healthcare, Friendswood Pediatric Adult and Specialty Care, the After Hours Pediatric Urgent Care in League City and the Friendswood University Eye Center.
UTMB cancer patients who were receiving radiation therapy before the hurricane can continue it at St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston. All their treatment records will be accessible from St. Joseph.
Pregnant patients can get care at off-island maternal child health clinics in Angleton, Dickinson, Katy, Pearland, Pasadena, McAllen, Victoria, Nacogdoches and Huntsville. Women receiving prenatal care through UTMB’s Women’s Health Center can access services at Bay Colony Health Care at Bay Colony Town Center.
Many UTMB employees are setting up off-island offices to help in the reconfiguration of medical services.
• UTMB students will be communicating with their schools to find out the individualized plans. The School of Allied Health Sciences plans to resume classes by the end of September, with courses divided into online, distance and/or face-to-face alternate locations, according to the UTMB Web site. Students in the School of Medicine will resume classes in early October.
Years three and four will be placed on rotations in other UT system and Texas institutions.
Nursing students will resume classes Oct. 1, with a combination of online activities and in-person activities at alternate locations, and clinical experiences, according to the Web site.
• UTMB Research: Research animals remain at the UTMB campus, under the care of a team of veterinarians, husbandry supervisors and animal technicians. USDA inspectors have approved the facilities, according to the UTMB Web site. Research samples and work have been protected and preserved with the use of dry-ice and nitrogen and emergency generator power. The new biocontainment lab was not yet operational, and not yet stocked.
The teamwork involved in reconfiguring the operations of a large medical center and school is impressive, Sexton said. She expected nothing less of the staff, and yet was surprised by the willingness of all to roll up their sleeves and join the fray.
The surprise has been “seeing how that all comes together and how people are able to pick up and think, ‘I can’t do it this way, so I’ll do it this way,’” she said.
“That problem solving and work as a team to get up and accomplish what we’ve done, it gives me hope,” she added. “It’s inspiring to see that, even at a time of devastation ... people are here every day and wanting to bring UTMB back to the great institution it is.”
Still, on occasion, negativity threatens. The command table has a set policy statement.
“We say, ‘Don’t sell that crazy in here, we’re all stocked up with it,’” she said.
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Information
For information, visit the UTMB Web site at www.utmb.edu. For patient care questions, call the UTMB Access Center at 409-772-2222 or toll-free at 800-917-8906.
