Impact

All it takes is 20 minutes for Heather Fields to help a woman take control of her breast health. “A mammogram is the best way to detect breast cancer early—when it is most treatable,” said Fields, a breast imaging technologist at UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus. “It only takes a few minutes and it saves lives.”

Rev. José Cedillo joined UTMB in May 2016 as director of Pastoral Care. An ordained bishop with the Church of God, Cedillo provides support for the spiritual, religious, emotional and value concerns of patients, families and staff.

For the past two centuries, the stethoscope has been the iconic symbol of medicine. But if you ask Dr. Masood Ahmad, that could soon change.

The focus on interprofessional education has been a foundational part of UTMB’s Academic Enterprise since it was introduced at the institution in 2008. Interprofessional education—or IPE as it’s commonly called—was introduced as part of Synergy, UTMB’s quality enhancement plan.

Twenty-six UTMB faculty, staff and students recently received UTMB President’s Cabinet awards for projects that promote outreach, education and improved patient care in the community and beyond. The 11 funded projects total more than $243,000.

Whether you’re playing sports for fun or as a competitive athlete, don’t let sports-related injuries keep you on the sidelines this fall. The most common types of injuries are sprains, strains and stress fractures due to overuse. The following tips can help prevent injuries no matter what sport you play.

Graduates of UTMB’s School of Health Professions sing “The Eyes of Texas” at the end of this year’s commencement on August 11 at Moody Gardens in Galveston. Three hundred eighty-one graduates received their degrees.

Welcome to the newest issue of Impact, a special edition dedicated to highlighting some of the significant contributions of our UTMB family during Hurricane Harvey.

This edition of Working Wonders honors all UTMB employees statewide who stepped up before, during and after Hurricane Harvey to serve the needs of our patients, families, colleagues and communities.

“The University of Texas stops for no storm.” Today, those words ring true once again as UTMB’s students and employees deal with the effects of yet another Gulf of Mexico hurricane.

When a Black Hawk helicopter carrying 500 pounds of blood products landed in the parking lot at UTMB’s Galveston Campus on Aug. 29, a wave of relief came over Dr. Barbara Bryant.

When Deb McGrew first heard that hospitals in the northern part of Galveston County were not taking patients, and possibly even closing during Hurricane Harvey, she knew something needed to be done.

There are endless accounts of employees, students and volunteers going above and beyond, even when faced with the effects of flooding that experts are saying is a 1-in-1,000-year event. Here are just a few of the many examples that show #WeAreUTMB.

On a late August morning as Tropical Storm Harvey moved north of the Galveston County area, anyone would have excused Latasha Vernon if she was a bit cranky. She had been in her hospital room in John Sealy Hospital for a week.

In the days leading up to Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, Pam Buttaccio began watching the weather channel a little more closely than normal. On Aug. 23, Harvey had regenerated into a tropical depression about 535 miles southeast of Port O’Connor, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. By Thursday, Harvey had strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane with winds as high as 100 mph.

Just over a year after the Ramsey Prison Cluster in Rosharon was evacuated due to flooding of the Brazos River, Hurricane Harvey lingered over the region, dumping record rainfall on the area again. Once more, UTMB Correctional Managed Care employees rose to the occasion.

The start of the 2017-2018 academic year was a memorable one for UTMB students and faculty. Just days after welcoming new students from all schools to campus at fall orientation, leaders in UTMB’s Academic Enterprise had the safety of students, faculty and staff in mind when they decided to cancel classes as Hurricane Harvey closed in on the Texas gulf coast.

As a major health care provider that residents of Southeast Texas depend on for primary and specialty care, UTMB works hard to safely maintain clinical operations during any adverse event. Hurricane Harvey was no exception.

After 30 years in the Navy, Glen Baker has his own set of experiences riding out hurricanes all across the country, but Hurricane Harvey was his first time as a hospital facilities manager.

There are a variety of local, regional and federal programs and services to assist our faculty, staff and students through each phase of the disaster recovery process.