After a successful run that spanned five decades, the final Impact was published in January 2020.  Impact was UTMB Health’s employee newsletter. It evolved from a one color printed tabloid newspaper to a full color magazine with a digital component. We’ve archived the past several years on these pages for your review and enjoyment.

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Working Wonders

Feb 23, 2018, 16:25 PM by KirstiAnn Clifford

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Raymond (Sonny) Morales,
construction manager; Leonard LaComb, principal facilities project manager; and Joel Long, maintenance customer service manager; received UTMB President David Callender’s Way to Go Awards for their dedication to helping the patients and families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Galveston. The building recently underwent seven months of construction and, while it has reopened to patients, there was a problem with one of the rooms that needed to be fixed. However, the patient staying in the room was severely burned and could not be moved into another area while the repairs were made. Without hesitation, the three men rushed over within minutes—even though it was after their regularly scheduled work hours—to help remedy the problem and make sure the patient was safe. “There are no words that I could come up with to let you know how thankful we are that they took the time to take care of the problem,” said Margie Chavarria, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Galveston. “People like Leonard, Sonny and Joel are what make this world a better place to live in.”
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Robert Hastedt, nurse manager; and Josette Armendariz-Batiste, director, patient care services and assistant chief nursing officer; also received Way to Go Awards at the Jan. 24 Town Hall for their critical thinking to meet the needs of patients who need dialysis treatments at the Angleton Danbury and League City campuses. When Hastedt and Armendariz-Batiste faced a critical patient care situation—the sudden termination of a dialysis contract—they came up with an innovative and new approach to deliver bedside dialysis services at ADC and LCC. Thanks to their dedication and hard work, UTMB can now offer dialysis services at the bedside at all three of its campuses.
Go-Team-Award
President David Callender presented Jeanene Trochesset, transplant coordinator; Daniel Madrigal, blood bank technologist; Velvet Maragh, blood bank technologist; and Maryam Noor, of the tissue antigen lab, with a “Team Award” for their excellent multidisciplinary communication and close attention to detail. While completing a workup for a kidney transplant offer for a UTMB patient, Trochesset collaborated with the blood bank and tissue antigen laboratory staff to prevent a serious adverse event from occurring after it was discovered that the donor’s blood sub-type was different from what an outside lab had reported. Because of their quick action and attention, the kidney transplant offer was declined and the mismatch was avoided. The patient was informed of the situation and expressed appreciation for the efforts of the team to safeguard their health.
DPT marathon massages
A group from UTMB’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program volunteered at the Chevron Houston Marathon on Jan. 14. Forty-five students from the classes of 2019 and 2020 provided massages for marathoners who had just finished running the 26.2- mile course. The massage therapy included emergency cramp management and care for injuries. “The runners were very appreciative of the hard work and service, and the students represented UTMB well!” said Dr. Alison Vargo, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Professions.
norma_perez
Dr. Norma Perez, director of UTMB’s Hispanic Center of Excellence, is the 2018 recipient of the Freeman Endowment Fund for the Development of Minority Faculty. This endowment is intended to provide support to faculty, programs and projects that advance UTMB’s core value of diversity and its institutional efforts to increase and support the development of minority faculty of underrepresented ethnic groups. Its aim is to help create and encourage a racially diverse workforce in medical research.

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Michelle Grace UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus nurses Michelle Grace and Mindy Carroll recently received DAISY awards for their quick actions and critical thinking during recent emergency events. Grace, a nurse in the emergency department, managed a patient with a gunshot wound who arrived to the ADC ED in the middle of Hurricane Harvey. The patient needed to be transferred to the Galveston Campus for surgical intervention; however, flooding made transporting the patient impossible. As soon as the water began to recede, Grace, who is also a licensed paramedic, located an ambulance, gathered supplies and had respiratory therapist Vincent Showalter accompany her and the patient for the one-hour transport. The patient was safely transferred and survived their wounds. Carroll, a nurse in the Angleton cardiology clinic, acted quickly and calmly when a patient began experiencing adverse effects during a procedure. She immediately called for the cardiologist, contacted 911, notified the ED and explained the situation to the patient and their spouse. “She thought of every possible detail that was important to the care and outcome of this patient’s condition,” said Cynthia Nelson, nurse manager of ADC ambulatory clinics. “Mindy displayed great leadership while directing her team, demonstrated compassion while calmly talking with her patient, and assured that the family was involved.”

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