Can you believe we are nearing the end of another fiscal year? It sure has been an eventful one!
From the extraordinary bravery our employees showed during the John Sealy Hospital fire in January to the launch of our “UTMB Wonders” awareness campaign and Innovations in Mind fundraising initiative, to the new Health Education Center groundbreaking on our Galveston Campus in April, the heart and commitment of our employees have been nothing short of inspiring.
Through your hard work, we’ve continued to rise in the rankings among academic medical centers as part of the Best Care initiative and we fared as well as could be expected during the 85th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature. This summer, we watched students graduate from all four of UTMB’s schools, marking 126 years of excellence in education, research and patient care. Look for coverage of the School of Health Professions commencement in the next issue of Impact. There’s so much to celebrate, and I’d like to thank you for making this year so special.
This edition highlights one of our very own volunteers, Jessica Norris. If you visit the League City Campus, you may have seen her providing refreshments to patients and visitors—always with a smile. Ms. Norris is one of nearly 400 active volunteers in Galveston, League City and the Angleton Danbury Campus Auxiliary who donate their time and energy to serving UTMB’s patients and families.
You can learn more about Ms. Norris and the amazing services our volunteers provide in this latest edition of Impact, along with other stories highlighting our people. Among them:
- A profile of Annette Macias-Hoag, associate vice president, Health System Operations and associate chief nursing officer, Angleton Danbury Campus
- A Best Care in Action spotlight featuring an initiative in the MICU to protect patients against infections
- A research study that discovered a new vaccine can protect female mice and their developing fetuses from Zika virus infection and related birth defects
- A team of UTMB physicians and employees taking an extreme medical mission trip to Mount Everest
- Summer programs offered by the Office of Educational Outreach that enable teacher and student success
- UTMB’s Employee Advisory Council’s visit to CMC in Huntsville
- Tips for recognizing and acknowledging the warning signs of suicide, by Dr. Jeff Temple and Lauren Scott, Behavioral Health and Research Department of Ob/Gyn Numerous accomplishments and kudos in the Working Wonders column and throughout the newsletter
I hope you enjoy this issue, and please contact the Impact team if you have ideas for future stories.
Dr. David L. Callender
UTMB President