Questions & Answers

The following are questions that were received in the EAC Inbox addressed to the March 5 Town Hall:

1. Parking on campus. I'm curious as to why we don't have more parking garages versus flat lot parking. It seems as though having one or two more parking garages would prove to be the best resolution. I know students are constantly having issues locating parking as well. Perhaps a garage dedicated to students would relieve that issue as well.
   
   RESPONSE: The UTMB Galveston Campus has nine parking garages and 34 surface parking lots. Since there currently are sufficient parking spaces available on campus, there is not enough demand at this point to justify the very significant expense needed to build and maintain a new parking garage. Building a new parking garage would also increase the cost of parking to the customers.

2. The president mentioned about taking PTO. Currently, the staffing model doesn't account for employees taking time off. Are there plans to increase staffing to account for employees using up their PTOs?
   
   RESPONSE: All department staffing models should be set up to account for PTO and any other non-productive paid time, such as orientation and education. When planning for each fiscal year, managers need to ensure that budgeted paid hours cover anticipated PTO and other non-productive time. This is one reason why it’s important for employees to request planned PTO as early as possible. Having that information available in advance, when possible, helps managers ensure adequate staffing throughout the year.  

3. All Inpatients, maybe all patients - that enter/exit UTMB - should have the option to leave with the DRUGS IN HAND. Spouse was Inpatient, told Medications were NECESSARY upon discharge by next dose needed that DAY .... BUT, took 2 trips and more than 7 phone calls to pharmacy and UTMB to GET the "necessary" medications. Complete care would have mitigated that issue - give him drugs to take home or the option to do that BEFORE leaving hospital.
   
   RESPONSE: UTMB Health Meds-to-Beds Pharmacy Services provide discharge prescriptions for all patients electing to utilize this service at the Galveston,  League City, and Clear Lake hospital campuses Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.  The UTMB Health pharmacies will deliver the prescriptions to the patient's bedside prior to discharge or arrange delivery by mail to the patient's home after discharge based on the patient's preference. Meds-to-Beds Pharmacy Services can be accessed through your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist at discharge.

4. What is UTMB doing to better compensate nurses with years of service and experience that hold a title of a nurse clinician III or above? UTMB has nurses who are nurse clinicians I and II making the same or more in yearly salary compared to a nurse clinician III. As a nurse clinician III with 11 years of experience and 23 years with UTMB it is insulting to know that my salary isn't much different than a new nurse with minimal experience.

5. Is there a possible timeframe on when ambulatory RNs will receive their market raises? There was a market evaluation completed in October of 2022 and the pay scales changed at that time. Ambulatory RNs hired before this date have not received a market adjustment and are making significantly lower salaries than their peers hired after 10/2022. The latest update we received as the budget had to be approved by leadership but that they are aware. I am concerned we lose a lot of great talent the longer this is taken seriously.

6. Is there any update on market analysis to get staff up to median salary?
   
   RESPONSE for Q4-6: As a part of its compensation strategy, UTMB reviews salary ranges for all jobs annually.  The salary ranges for nurses in Ambulatory and many other roles throughout UTMB did change in October 2022, and changes to salary ranges have continued as new market data becomes available.  However, a change to a job’s salary range does not mean that employees in that job will automatically receive a market adjustment.  In fact, many employees are still well positioned in the salary ranges of their respective jobs and have room for continued salary growth.  Market adjustments are not applied across the board. Employees’ qualifications, including years of experience, are reviewed against placement in the salary range to determine if someone is placed appropriately.

   UTMB leadership allocated funds for market adjustments during the last three fiscal years and has been actively working with Human Resources to review the jobs with the most significant gaps to market to bring those employees to market.  This work will continue in FY24 on a prioritized basis to retain our most critical staff.

7. Other organizations provide monetary incentives to boost a healthy work lifestyle. Payment for gym memberships or for annual health check-ups. It seems we have financial restraints every year, but as a Health organization, shouldn't we advocate for this for our employees? I would assume there would be a discount of some sort from BCBS if more and more employees complete their annual health screen and join gyms? I've looked at MedPro and there is not really any discount savings.
   
   RESPONSE: As a member of the University of Texas System, our employees have access to a variety of health and wellness benefits. Through the UT Living Well Platform, Limeade, UTMB’s partnership with LifeMart, and BCBS’s Fitness Program,  employees have access to discounts for gym memberships, fitness classes, fitness gear, nutrition support, weight loss programs and more. Additionally, UTMB houses a fitness center on the Galveston campus, conveniently located in the field house and accessible to members around work hours. Through the UT Select health insurance plan, preventive care visits and health screenings are covered for employees and dependents without co-pay or deductible. These benefits are designed to support the overall health and well-being of our employees.

8. Why did leadership kill Earth Day this year? This is a long-time tradition for UTMB that provides numerous benefits to the UTMB community. It is disappointing to see that it was cancelled with citing of "cost" as a reason when it's pretty easy to see that this is a low-cost function that provides benefits and there are numerous other events being held across campus that likely cost more and provide much limited value to the organization.
   
   RESPONSE: Earth Day participation has been decreasing in recent years. When considered alongside the direct costs and the value of the substantial volunteer time it takes to organize the event, leadership decided it was in UTMB’s best interest to pause for 2024 and re-evaluate the program next year. One option under consideration is making it an every-other-year event, in hopes that will encourage more participation and make the best use of the resources devoted to this special event, including the time and effort of volunteers and guest exhibitors.
   
   

9. What are your plans for the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department? How do you see the basic sciences progressing towards more translational research? 
   
   RESPONSE: To date, we have sourced, screened, and interviewed top talent for a new Chair of our Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department. Together, our goals are to continue to stabilize BMB while onboarding a new Chair, who will be charged with implementing their strategic plan in alignment with UTMB’s research and innovation missions.
   
   To help realize Dr. Reiser’s vision for UTMB’s future, several new positions are now in place that focus on translational research. Dr. Vineet Gupta is the VP for Innovation and Technology Transfer Development, with a focus on building our commercialization and innovation program. This work is highly translational as we move our discoveries from bench to bedside. 
   
   Dr. Alan Landay is the VP for Team Science with a focus on bringing basic scientists, educators and clinicians together on institutional and inter-institutional projects. His vast knowledge of national and international opportunities will afford many new opportunities for basic scientists to do translational research. 
   
   Dr. Salim Hayek is the VP and Chief Transformation Officer, with a focus on bringing clinicians and basic scientists together to advance patient care. This is an exciting position because Dr. Hayek is primarily appointed in the UTMB Health System to better facilitate these connections to improve cutting-edge research for our patients.

10. Ordering, shipping, deliveries, and missing package issues have been reducing in total number of occurrences but are still present among the UTMB logistics chain. is there a way to reduce the logistics chain redundancies for smoother operations and is there a way to reduce overall delays on order turnaround when it is submitted in the UTMB Power system (PO Issuance and submission to vendors)?
    
    RESPONSE: Thank you for bringing your question forward. Supply Chain works diligently to minimize disruptions of any kind to UTMB operations and to implement a continuous improvement culture. There are ways to further reduce some redundancies to provide smoother operations through more sophisticated, standardized and integrated software platforms. These are being evaluated, in coordination with IT Services to ensure UTMB has an overall systematic strategy for support through software and people.
    
    Supply Chain has also recently met with some AE team members to compare the requisitioning process through POWER versus PeopleSoft, with the goal of utilizing one standardized system.  We will be providing regular updates on our progress to improve supply chain and logistics operations.

11. Apprenticeship. I love the idea of being able to train in a position that you haven't work before but have interest in learning about. However, not everyone wants to work in a "medical" field. Meaning, I know several who work here but don't want to do direct patient care. How are we to change careers or advance into another position if we don't have the opportunity to learn something outside of what we currently do?
    
    RESPONSE: While our existing apprenticeship programs are health care-based, we are already working to have plans in the near future to expand into other areas of operation. Additionally, apprenticeship programs are only one way by which UTMB will create its future workforce.  As we develop additional career pathways, career development starts with conversations with your manager—giving them insight into where you want your career to go and collaboratively creating a plan for development. Working in an academic medical center provides endless career opportunities because we need jobs of all kinds, not just health care, to make our operations run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

12. Many hospitals throughout Texas and the United States will send some of their critical care nurses to NTI yearly with no cost out of pocket. Cost would include airfare, food and lodging. UTMB is one of the few hospitals which don't offer this opportunity not for one nurse though not any. Attending NTI is a valuable experience where there is a wealth of information evidence based and up to date material on various critical care topics. With learned information we could bring back and share with team in hoping we could better serve our population in caring for our patients. Could we possibly get approved for several to go for each unit yearly?

    
    RESPONSE: Historically, UTMB has focused conference support on staff who have been accepted to present at the conference or those who are highly engaged in hospital initiatives that align with the conference to reward their contributions. We have left the decision to support specialized conferences such as NTI to the departmental or local campus leadership. Pre-pandemic we sent representatives from each campus/department to the Magnet conference annually; for instance, in 2022 we supported 19 nurses in attending the Magnet conference virtually. In 2023, we sent eight frontline staff who were highly engaged in the restructuring of our Professional Governance structure to the American Organization Nurse Leaders Professional Governance conference in Denver. We will continue to explore funding opportunities – particularly for nurses who are accepted to present posters or podium presentations at other national and/or regional meetings.

13. There is no tiered pricing structure for staff, based on salary. So, a Medical Assistant that gets paid less than $50,000 a year, ends up paying the same amount for parking as a faculty - in the same clinic - that makes 10 times the MA's salary. As a Medical Assistant, I must park on campus because it’s dangerous or too far to walk to free parking. Also, it is less safe for my car to be parked on the side of the street. And, in the rain I get super soaked and am late to work. And worse off, I have seen other colleagues or UTMB employees find work arounds by getting their parking validated by the clinic. This parking validation takes up parking spaces that are meant for patients and it increases the cost of parking to the clinics. So why not just charge departments for employee parking so it’s free for the employees. 
    
    RESPONSE: The current parking model does not allow for departments to subsidize employee parking. And while there is not a tiered pricing structure for employees based on salary, there are parking options available for employees at different price levels.
    
    The parking cost for employees on surface parking lots ranges from free parking (including a shuttle service to the Galveston campus) to $44/month. Employee garage parking prices range from $68.50/month to $115/month. We also offer garage nighttime parking ($22/month) and Employee Flex Parking options($25/month or $40/month).
    
    In addition, the UTMB Police Department’s Safety Watch program operates from dusk to dawn to assist employees, students and visitors in getting from Point A to Point B on UTMB property (including the free surface lots).
    
    Parking validation is for patients only and it is a violation for employees to have their tickets validated. This violation could lead to disciplinary action. The Parking Office at John Sealy Hospital (parking@utmb.edu or 409-266-7275) can help employees find the best solution for their individual parking needs.

14. Can we expect a strategic scorecard, or vision, from our institution, and will it be published online? With the addition of new leaders, it is important for UTMB employees to know and understand what are the strategic imperatives that we are trying to reach over the immediate 5-10 years. There has not been a strategic scorecard or strategic plan published in about 5 years. So, UTMB employees are unable to gauge if we are on the right path or how well we are doing. Because of the lack of strategic planning and vision, new initiatives pop up randomly - some survive, and some do not. And the ones that survive, leave us wondering if they are supposed to remain.
    
    RESPONSE: UTMB Health publishes annual updates to its strategic plan online. The plan evolves as the health sciences and health care landscape changes. As Dr. Reiser’s three- to five-year vision for UTMB Health takes shape, those priorities will be part of future updates to the plan.

15. Please let us know any updates to the Rebecca Sealy Building being vacated and when. Can this be answered during Town Hall? 
    
    RESPONSE: There is a long-term plan to vacate the Rebecca Sealy building.  However, there is no specific target date set to accomplish this task. Meanwhile, we are working to relocate various groups to other locations.  We are currently determining long-term plans for the land where the building is currently located. In the interim, we are beginning to decommission the building and limit the depreciation and other expenses associated with the building.  

16. Are there any plans for expansion of not only services provided at the Angleton Danbury Campus but physically as well? ADC is busting at the seams. While some departments have been updated, others seem to lack the attention needed. Specifically, the outpatient rehab services unit. There are days when crucial patient conversations/assessments are having to be completed in an open area where the patient's privacy may not be fully protected. This is due to pure lack of space.
    
    RESPONSE: Two important changes have been made to address the concerns of Outpatient Rehabilitation Services at our Angleton Danbury Campus.

    In November, Speech Therapy was moved out of the Outpatient Rehab space, into the adjacent Suite 103. This alleviated congestion in the unit and allowed more room to treat rehab patients.

    In December, congestion in the registration area was addressed by moving the Patient Service Specialist for Suite 103, with check-in workflow moving to the Suite 103 desk. The move provided adequate lobby space for the number of patients seen in the Outpatient Rehab clinic. This change also removed check-in furniture from the usable rehab treatment space, while also resolving concerns about patient privacy when sensitive information is shared during therapy sessions.

    In the future, the busy Cardiopulmonary Rehab service will move out of this shared space into the Wellness Center building. Designs and quotes have been completed for this project, and leadership is currently in the process of securing funding to make this change soon.

17. I appreciate plans to turn UTMB into a world class leading institution. How do you plan to attract talent to Galveston? One of the biggest drawbacks to UTMB, in my opinion, is the lack of safe decent affordable housing amongst other things (many students have complained about infestations in their apartments). The commonly accepted alternative of commuting every day from league city is expensive and tiresome for medical and graduate students. Do you plan to work with the city on that? There seems to have been a lack of residential development in the city. 
    
    RESPONSE: UTMB leadership recognizes the challenges of finding affordable housing in a community with limited space for further residential development. While the construction and management of residential property is not UTMB Health’s expertise or core mission, we would gladly provide input on any future property development undertaken by the City of Galveston or other entities.