UTMB has been named a top performer in this year’s 2020 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list. The list is determined using independent and objective research to analyze hospital and health system performance. Award winning hospitals serve as a model of excellence for the industry.

UTMB’s Vineet Menachery is a contributor for this story from the United Arab Emirates that examines how schools will reopen safely while continuing to deal with the pandemic. Bloomberg and Yahoo! Finance also published the story.

This article describes how UTMB’s Monte Pettitt and Harvard University joined forces to use a supercomputer to discover new ways that peoples’ DNA prepares itself for repair. DNA, which is within all our cells, is under attack all the time by environmental and behavioral factors like UV radiation and carcinogens. What made the study unique is that the research team showed specifics on how the molecules interacted with one another in order to line up before repair.

Dr. Ben Raimer stressed the importance of wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19in this recently published guest column. Raimer notes that masks are not a silver bullet against the illness, but they are a useful and effective tool along with other prevention measures.

The local online news also interviewed Dr. Gulshan Sharma to learn more about UTMB’s ability to handle any increase in COVID-19 patients needing hospital care. Sharma explained that as long as the public does their job to stay safe from COVID-19, UTMB will do their job and provide care when needed.

The ability of local health care facilities to treat patients that are a result of the rising number of COVID-19 cases is drawing much attention. The concern is that the number of patients will eventually overwhelm hospitals. In this report from local media, UTMB’s Dr. Gulshan Sharma acknowledges the increase is real but stresses UTMB has the ability to meet demand. “The hospital beds are a very fluid situation,” Sharma said. “We have adequate space to expand to whatever need to take care of patients in our county.”

In this guest column published in the local newspaper, Dr. Ben Raimer, UTMB president ad interim, explains why it is important to wear a mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Raimer notes that masks are not a silver bullet against the illness, but they are a useful and effective tool along with other prevention measures.

The number of reported cases of child abuse have declined during the pandemic, which worries authorities. Many feel the decline is because children are not in schools and other facilities where people are trained to spot abuse and mandated to report it. The pandemic has also been a stressful time, which can lead to abuse. “When we see increased stress, we see increased abuse, whether it’s to a partner or to a child,” said UTMB’s Jeff Temple.

In this installment of their popular column, Drs.Megan Berman and Richard Rupp explain why high quality studies are necessary when researching drugs and their usage. The highest quality are randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies, according to the doctors.

This week, Dr. Victor Sierpina shares with readers a number of studies that are likely to impact practices and patient care from The American Family Physician journal.