There was a lot of UTMB material in the local newspaper this weekend. I was camping with my cub scouts Friday night, and in Austin Monday, so I’m a little late in sharing this with you. My guess is most of you have seen it. There’s an editorial by the publisher of the GCDN, Dolph Tillotson; a story by UTMB’s new beat reporter (and Biz Buzz columnist), Laura Elder; and a guest column by State Senator Kyle Janek, all—in one sense or another—about our future at UTMB. Rather than add my two cents, take a read for yourself.
Call for aid requires a little explanation
Galveston County Daily News, Oct. 22
When Dr. John D. Stobo said he would resign as head of the University of Texas Medial Branch next August, he issued a plea for support from Galveston County. “If you don’t want to see us shrink to a 200-bed hospital, if you don’t want us to lose the National Laboratory, this is a time for the community to get behind UTMB,” Stobo said. Funding cuts, staff reductions and even the institution’s hotly debated, evolving mission have left UTMB in turmoil. There are two problems in responding to Stobo’s call for support. First, no one understands clearly what the community should do. Second, the community simply cannot solve many of UTMB’s problems. UTMB must do that. Nonetheless, UTMB is too critical to Galveston County’s future to ignore, and we simply must engage. See it…
UTMB ‘taking a deep breath’
Galveston County Daily News, Oct. 22
Citing pragmatism, not political pressure, as the reason, University of Texas Medical Branch officials say they’ll postpone by six months construction of a $30.5 million specialty care facility in League City. The decision to postpone construction that was supposed to begin in January comes as leaders of the island’s largest employer are being intensely criticized for cost-cutting measures and layoffs that so far have eliminated 800 full-time equivalent positions. Do Not Resuscitate? Administrators deny that outcry by mainland physicians and fear of alienating local lawmakers, who are getting heat from constituents, has killed plans for the League City clinic. Read it…
A prescription for UTMB
Galveston County Daily News, Oct. 22
For more than a century, the University of Texas Medical Branch has served our community both as a beacon of hope and care for our poorest citizens, as well as a force for progress in the eyes of medical students and professionals alike. Read more…