UTMB and each of the other components of the University of Texas System have updated the Compact documents which summarize major institutional goals and priorities, strategic directions and critical issues for the 2007 – 2008 period. UTMB’s plan, which builds upon our core values and mission, was recently approved by the Chancellor’s Office. An abstract of the document, “Compact with UT System,” is offered below for your review. The document is also available in its entirety, as a PDF download. (Adobe Reader required)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), the oldest of the six health sciences universities in The University of Texas System, was created as a public trust to safeguard and advance the health of all Texans. Our mission is to provide scholarly teaching, innovative scientific investigation, and state-of-the-art patient care in a learning environment. The University is committed to excelling in the generation, dissemination and application of knowledge to better the health of society. For more than a century, UTMB has honored this commitment by remaining true to its core values of service, education, diversity, innovation, and community.
UTMB is much more than a collection of hospitals, offices, laboratories and classrooms. It is a place where dedicated, compassionate individuals work together for a common good. It is a place where exceptional professionals use their training and their sense of commitment to recognize and meet pressing needs. It is a place where those in need can seek the best care science can offer. It is a place that prides itself on helping those who cannot help themselves.
There are many outstanding faculty and staff dedicated to numerous institutional initiatives of major importance that are aligned with our values and mission. The Compact is not the Strategic Plan and does not include all of the institution’s priorities. For the purposes of the Compact, the following are the highest short-term and long-term priorities and initiatives.
SHORT-TERM PRIORITIES (1-2 years)
Priority #1 Improve financial performance to ensure the financial health of the university and support the education, health care, and research missions.
Objectives:
UTMB is committed to enhancing revenue sources and controlling costs in order to ensure the financial health of the university and therefore secure its ability to educate future generations of health professionals, care for patients, and further medical science. UTMB will achieve a positive 3 percent operating margin.
Priority #2 Develop inpatient and outpatient infrastructure to support increased commercial patient volume and the development of new patient care product lines.
Objectives:
Increase commercial patient volume by providing patient-centered, patient friendly care facilities and supporting infrastructure.
Priority #3 Continue to develop collaborative educational, research, and outreach programs in the Austin area.
Objectives:
The objectives of program development in Austin include providing additional opportunities for students to receive undergraduate medical education in Central Texas; enhancing UTMB programs in graduate medical education; partnering with UT Austin in a combined M.D./Ph.D. program; reaching out and creating innovative models to care for populations at risk; providing opportunities for collaborative research projects between UTMB and the other project participants; and providing opportunities for Austin medical community scientists and UTMB scientists to participate in clinical trials.
Priority #4 Use information technology to improve access to quality health care services, improve patient safety, expand educational programs, and support the global research enterprise.
Objectives:
The university will provide a flexible network infrastructure that enables enterprise access to our IT applications. Electronic tools will facilitate communication, information sharing, and information management. State-of-the-art integrated information systems will improve the reliability and effectiveness of our health care delivery, education programs, and administrative processes. Provide improved IT connectivity, software, and hardware for bio-computing research scientists.
Priority #5 Create the conditions, structures, models, technology, and systems to ensure the university has a trained and educated workforce to meet both current and future workforce needs.
Objectives:
The health care enterprise which includes health care professionals, nontraditional health care roles (i.e., accounting, information technology, and laboratory technicians), researchers, and the community is critical to the delivery of quality care, health care education, and research. The university must have skilled leadership and workforce and the resources in place to provide development, nurturing, and professional growth.
Priority #6 Successfully complete the five-year comprehensive campaign in order to support areas of excellence at UTMB that are critical to achieving institutional priorities.
Objectives:
UTMB has embarked on its Timeless Values, Pioneering Solutions comprehensive campaign, an effort aimed at securing $250 million in philanthropic support, including contributions received from The Sealy & Smith Foundation, between September 1, 2003, and December 31, 2008. The campaign will build upon UTMB’s unique and complementary strengths in four broad-based areas that are critical to the health of the state and the nation: infectious disease, biodefense, and vaccine development; telehealth and improving access to care; longevity, chronic diseases, and neurological recovery; and teaching the art and science of health care. Campaign priorities will benefit programs of excellence in all four UTMB schools, as well as university-wide research and clinical care programs.
LONG TERM PRIORITIES (2-4 years)
Priority #1 Support the national call for reengineering the clinical research enterprise by increasing translational research in concert with the National Institutes of Health Roadmap, so that advances discovered in basic and clinical research can be readily developed into new patient care therapies.
Objectives:
A major institutional focus is to strengthen collaborations between UTMB and the other UT System academic and health institutions, and between UTMB and government and commercial entities. UTMB will increase extramural funding for translational research and commercialization support, thereby increasing the pace of discoveries and clinical development in the life sciences.
Priority #2 Continue facility development in conformance with the capital improvement plan to improve our clinical facilities and support our expanding research opportunities.
Objectives:
Implement the capital facilities plan in accordance with the U. T. System Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), ensuring that all projects are completed within the approved budget and schedule. Ensure that all projects are linked to institutional goals and that the facilities needs of the educational, clinical care, and research missions of the university are met.
Priority #3 Enhance our environment and programs to improve the recruitment, retention, and development of a diverse workforce of faculty, staff, and administrators and thereby create a workforce that reflects the diversity of Texas.
Objectives:
Because a culturally diverse workforce can better address the health care needs of a culturally diverse patient population, we recognize our responsibility to educate scientists, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals who mirror the population they serve. In response, the university has designed and implemented plans for recruiting members from disadvantaged groups as students, faculty and staff, and for encouraging members of these groups to enter the health care professions. Specifically, UTMB has plans in place to enhance pre-college awareness programs; enhance and develop undergraduate awareness programs; enhance admissions processes; increase funding for scholarship programs; enhance academic support systems; and refine evaluation processes for recruitment and retention.
Priority #4 Advance the educational environment by creating structures and innovative programs to enhance teaching and learning for faculty and students.
Objectives:
UTMB will focus resources on improving the practices and skills of the teaching faculty and the learning environment of students. We will increase the number of innovative educational programs that promote multi-disciplinary and team-based healthcare delivery. We will also increase the extent to which students are satisfied that the educational program has equipped them to perform effectively in a multi-disciplinary team environment when they enter professional practice.
FUTURE INITIATIVES OF HIGH STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Priority #1 Achieve a more balanced revenue portfolio by diversifying revenue sources in order to maintain financial health despite changes in state and federal funding.
Objectives:
UTMB’s funding for fiscal year 2005 came from five main sources: patient care, state appropriations, research grants, gifts/donations/philanthropy and other sources, and tuition and fees. UTMB’s objective is to reduce the dependence on state appropriations as a percentage of total revenue and achieve a more balanced revenue portfolio; with a target of 16 percent general revenue, 45 percent patient care, 20 percent research and 19 percent other revenue sources.
Priority #2 Maintain our position of social responsibility by ensuring that each of our schools provides a curriculum that educates and prepares teams of health care professionals to practice health care in the future.
Objectives:
The university will develop a standard set of core competencies in the curriculum of each school that addresses the needs of health care professionals who will enter practice by the 2010 period.
Priority #3 Become a recognized leader in shaping health policy in the area of addressing the health needs of the medically underserved.
Objectives:
UTMB plans to establish a Health Policy Institute to perform research related to eliminating health disparities. UTMB serves a diverse population and is therefore uniquely positioned to inform decision makers about the issues surrounding health care delivery to disadvantaged populations. The Health Policy Institute will provide opportunities for students and faculty to conduct research to understand the nature and extent of health disparities, investigate the impact of such disparities on the health care system, and educate various public constituents about the issues regarding health disparities. The Health Policy Institute, in collaboration with other UTMB departments and schools, will provide research opportunities to selected scholars in topics such as the effect of insurance on long-term health care outcomes, the needs of the working uninsured, and the effects of health care policy on the health of disadvantaged populations and the health care delivery system. |
