UTMB's Students Storm the Texas Capitol

With about one-half of the 81st legislative session behind us, UTMB remains a central focal point for the Texas Legislature's decision making.

The UT System Board of Regents made their decision last week by passing a resolution allowing UTMB to move another step toward restoration of its campus on Galveston Island.  Texas Representative Craig Eiland has brokered a proposal which he outlined in HB 6 which calls for $354 million in state funding, $250 million for the required FEMA matching funds, $150 million toward the construction of a new Jennie Sealy surgical and bed tower, and $54 million for replacement of business losses.

In addition, to the anticipated $450 million FEMA funding, the package would also be contingent upon a $200 million gift from the Sealy Smith Foundation.  The end result would be restoration of John Sealy Hospital Tower, new construction of the Jeannie Sealy Surgical Tower with ICU beds, surgical operating rooms, and patient care rooms, and the necessary mitigation of services from the first two floors of those properties to comply with FEMA reconstruction guidelines.

 

For the most part, members of the legislature seem to agree that the investment is worthwhile for the state of Texas, especially since most of the real funding comes from FEMA and SSF sources.  Where the state's share of that rebuilding cost comes from is now the question.  Will it be bonds, Rainy Day Fund, General Revenue, or some other yet unidentified resources.

A few things are clear!  The closure of UTMB's Level I Trauma Center which was ranked first in the nation because of its lowest mortality and morbidity rates last fall has created a large hole in the health care delivery system in the southeast Texas and Houston areas.  With only two Level I Trauma Centers servicing the area, it is clear that UTMB's role needs to be resumed as soon as possible.  It is also painfully clear that the role that UTMB played in providing care to unsponsored / uninsured patient was a critical one.  Area hospitals are now inundated with more patients than their facilities have capacity to manage creating yet another health care access crisis in the region.

Although UTMB's outpatient visits are now only about 10 percent fewer than the last 12-month period, inpatient bed space still remains limited.  The John Sealy Hospital and the prison hospital have about 250 beds open with half of those dedicated to women and children's services.  UTMB is now re-hiring health care workers to expand its bed capacity this spring to about 350 total.

 

Meanwhile in Austin UTMB continues to move its legislative agenda along the road.  This week UTMB students visited the capitol.  Organized by students Michael Leasure, Mike Rains, Brian Masel, Charles Kimbrough, and Alisa Kachikis, over 100 highly informed and highly organized medical, nursing and health profession students arrived Tuesday morning aboard two buses provided by community supporters.  They met with Representative Craig Eiland, Senator Joan Huffman, Representative Larry Taylor, and Senator Mike Jackson on the front steps of the capitol.  They were introduced on the floor of the House as well as on the floor of the Senate.

 

Coached by student leadership the students broke into groups of two or three and walked through the halls of the capitol to pre-arranged meetings with members of the legislature.  At the end of the day, they had talked personally with 100 percent of the membership of the Senate and almost 100 percent of the House.  The students provided their own personal stories of losses attributed to Hurricane Ike and also provided first-hand stories of why they feel so strongly that UTMB should be restored as quickly as possible.

In the middle of a press conference with Representatives Eiland and Taylor, the students learned that UTMB's residency programs matched to 100% of capacity.  Shouts of joy and smiles of relief filled the room.  "We are back" seemed to be the phrase of the day.

 

The TMA Auditorium several blocks away provided the setting for continued celebrations after the capitol visits.  Several house members dropped by the celebration to catch the wave of excitement brought by the students.  Students report that "minds were changed" and support gained.

 

UTMB students are confident, articulate messengers.  They went head-to-head with some of the brightest minds in Austin, and when the day was over, their message was received with a great deal of respect and admiration.

 

UTMB students say that they are not just returning to the island and waiting to see what will happen.  Rather, they plan to continue to be involved in letting the legislature, regents, and general public know of their support of the rebuilding of their campus and the support that they have for their faculty.

 

This week the legislature continues in its discussion of Eiland's HB 6 and its provisions for Texas' recovery after several natural disasters that have hit the state over the past biennium.  In all likelihood, some compromise will be reached regarding the financing methodology and the critical amounts allocated for all named institutions.

 

Meanwhile, UTMB will continue to also work to assure that the institutions overall needs related to formula funding for students, special items, and recovery needs are addressed in the bill patterns.