Medical Center in Galveston Faces $710 Million in Ike Damage

Reader Comments
Back to blog

My son is in the Hustville Unit and has a serous medical condition and his surgery been postponed two times becaquse there is no place for him to go. This is a "medical
Katrina". Nobody prepared for a hurricain and now there are
hundreds of inmates that need medical attention and are not getting any.

Dennis of TX 1:16AM January 02, 2009

UTMB has a long history of providing health care to the poor. In a civilized society, this is an unavoidable, morale, humane, responsibility of the taxpayers. There must be a better way long range way to deal with the economic challenges facing Texas and especially Galveston, than to devastate the living wages of over 4,000 workers in this community. This "solution" is irresponsibility and an galrign example of a misapplied business model at its worst.

UTMB worker of TX 9:18AM October 15, 2008

UTMB will lay off 4,400 employees, many of whom have just lost their homes in the hurricane but they have petitioned the state for just enough funding to keep employees until after the November 4th elections.
I actually agree that UTMB should relocate their operations off the island where they will be able to thrive and have to increase the quality of patient care in order to compete with other Clear Lake area hospitals and the medical center. But they should be honest about the layoffs and let people know who will be kept for the recovery & relocation period and who needs to start looking for a job.

Galvestonian of TX 8:45PM October 14, 2008

My husband always said, "Hindsight is 20/20." I would love to have a crystal ball that told me the future--umm, maybe not.

sue of OR 5:05PM October 14, 2008

The UT System medical institutions are so adept at escalating dollars needed and reducing reported dollars spent of entertainment, salaries,bonus incentives,investments,etc.
-Where did the estimates of damage come from?
-How old where the buildings damaged and how much money was in depreciation reserves?
-How much is in investments?
-Rather than laying off 4000 employees, there are other alternatives;have those been examined?
-UTMB had already cut back on its access by the uninsured
-UT System and its instititutions have billions in investments,so the poor mouthing is a lie
-If UTMB wants to service the insured,let them but any funds for rebuilding in Galveston should not be allowed to be diverted to other projects

Brent of TX 9:24AM October 13, 2008

UTMB hasn't been profitable for years. The hospital limps along using billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize its operations. There are plenty of hospitals in Houston and the surrounding areas that don't receive any government funding. These hospitals have been forced to make changes in order to stay profitable. UTMB has been shielded from the reality of business and economics by continued “bailouts”. The Galveston economy can't support a 600 bed multispecialty medical center. The UT officials advocating moving operations to League City are absolutely right. League City will be more accessible and will attract more patients. The UT board of regents is right to move UTMB. UTMB was once a prestigious institution and it can be again, but not in Galveston. People may lose their jobs, but they'll find jobs elsewhere - especially the healthcare professionals. UT needs to stop wasting taxpayer dollars and focus on creating a private, self sustaining hospital just like UT Southwestern, UT Houston, Baylor etc. Economies change, populations change, healthcare needs change - why should UTMB remain static. The UT regents should have acted a long time ago. UTMB should have had a major presence in the Clear Lake area for years. If you are tired of inadequate chairs then have them be accountable for their departments without relying on taxpayer dollars to subsidize their continued failures.

realist of TX 11:20PM October 11, 2008

UTMB administrators have mismanaged the hospital and clinics for years and as a result this recent crisis is much worse than it should be. Administrators have allowed departments to bleed money year after year rather than holding their department directors accountable for being great stewards of the states resources. One example includes the common knowledge that UTMB has many administrators that are completely unable to collaborate with each other. As a result, each one of those administrators has duplicated their entire department rather than relying on the centralization of many of these redundant responsibilities. The fact that UTMB has had to do lay-offs many times over the last several years (even when the economy was thriving) exemplifies the level of mismanagement that has occurred. UTMB’s MO includes having layoffs, letting a few months pass, and beginning a hiring frenzy that eventually leads to another layoff/hiring cycle. Taxpayers should petition to have these leaders replaced immediately in order to ensure that any additional money received from FEMA/State is appropriately used toward the single most important goal which is to make sure that the people of Galveston and the indigent of Texas have a great institution to go to for their healthcare needs. The massive number of layoffs that will occur over the next few months will be a direct impact of the last several years of POOR leadership at the University and not solely related to the after effects of the hurricane. Unfortunately, these poor management decisions by UTMB's administrators will now be rolled up and called “Hurricane Ike”.

Unbelievable of TX 3:29PM October 11, 2008

UTMB is trying to lay off 4,000 employees, many of whom have narrowly survived one disaster already.
UTMB took on serious damage, but between insurance, FEMA, and UT System money, they could rebuild. WELL BEFORE THE STORM, HOWEVER, UTMB had purchased 64 acres (only 20 acres less than it has in Galveston) in League City, on the mainland. (Publicly, it said it just didn't know why it purchased that last 29 acres of the 64 total.) It seems the population in Galveston tends to be poorer, while mainland people tend to be wealthier (i.e., have insurance). They were quietly planning to move anyway, and had laid off 70 people and shut down two programs and 100 beds just a couple of months ago. Now they're simply using Ike to speed things up and LAY OFF 4,000+ EMPLOYEES all in one fell swoop in the process.
New Orleans had other industries and sources of income. Galveston is not so lucky. UTMB, if not made to change course, will deal the death blow to Galveston's economy.

George Reamy of TX 8:48AM October 11, 2008

Maybe the University should consider a flood wall or gate totally around UTMB, so this will never happen again. The people of Galveston are very Pround of their city and of their University, that began Here, and grew thru-out the Great State of Texas. Sam Carrasco

sam carrasco of FL 9:01PM October 10, 2008