With the completion of the new Jennie Sealy Hospital, UTMB’s Galveston Campus facilities alone will contain more than 8 million square feet of space. That’s a lot to manage – not counting outpatient clinics, campuses in League City and Angleton Danbury, and requests for renovations and new real estate.
So how do we make sure we are investing in the right projects and using every square foot appropriately and efficiently? That’s where two new committees, the Real Estate and Space Committee and Capital Committee, come in. Under the leadership of Cheryl Sadro, UTMB’s executive vice president and chief business and finance officer, the two committees will work closely with one another to review proposals for new and existing space, discuss how they fit in to UTMB’s strategic plans, assess costs and ultimately make recommendations to executive leadership.
Mike Shriner, vice president for Business Operations and Facilities, is leading the RESC, which meets twice a month and brings together financial and operational leadership from the Academic Enterprise, Health System and Institutional Support. Their charge is to review any real estate request submitted through an online form that has the support of the department or area’s executive vice president. In a nutshell, the committee is responsible for ensuring strategic placement of all leased and owned facilities.
“Whether it’s space for an office, a patient care room or an outpatient clinic in Alvin, it’s always the same issue: location, location, location,” said Shriner. “The cost of our space and our fixed assets are fairly high because of the type of work we do and technology we use, and they require a considerable amount of capital. Consequently, we have to be very careful where we plant those dollars. There are great examples of buildings that have been put in the wrong spot, but once they’re there, they’re there for 50 to 100 years. So the location of a building or leased space and whether it makes sense and follows our strategic plan is a key item for our committee to discuss.”
Another important conversation topic surrounding proposals for more space is how that new space would impact the institution’s operating budget.
“Every time we add a square foot, that means more law enforcement, more health and safety personnel, more utility bills, more housekeeping, more maintenance, etc.,” said Shriner. “All of those expenses impact our bottom line, and this new committee is able to look at the whole picture and identify those before we get too far down the road.”
Projects that are approved by the RESC move on to the Capital Committee if it is determined that additional funding will be needed. Matt Furlong, associate vice president for Financial Planning and Performance Management, leads that group, which he says will bring more transparency and rigor to the entire decision-making process and allow for a better balance of all the institution’s needs.
“As with any business, we have finite resources and so many good uses for those resources,” said Furlong. “While we all would 
love the ability to fulfill all requests, the challenge in today’s health care climate is deciding what investments we can afford in order to further the best interests of our university.”
Furlong said the Capital Committee will follow set guidelines and evaluate projects based on criteria including alignment with strategic priorities, economic impact, and contribution to institutional quality, safety and compliance. He added that “routine investments,” such as maintaining existing infrastructure, is a top priority that can’t be overlooked. Once the Capital Committee has provided final project input, executive leadership will have the ultimate decision of approving or denying a project.
Both committees are in effect as of June 1 and have already met to outline specific processes to meet their obligations. (View the processes for RESC and Capital Committee.)
The committees will conduct two informational sessions in July to review the committee operations and processes for those individuals responsible for submitting, reviewing or approving documents that are presented for review. Please watch for these announcements on iUTMB and during your Weekly Relay meetings.