Last we heard, the medical center devastated from Hurricane Ike was facing a very difficult recovery. In November, massive layoffs were announced.
MedPage Today went to Texas and found that the news was not all bad: “They hope to reopen John Sealy Hospital for acute care — for good — within a week. Obstetrics and newborn services returned to UTMB a month ago and will remain in operation, as those hospital areas are unaffected by the air-quality issues.”
The loyalty of faculty and desire to rebuild the center to “come back stronger and more vibrant” is inspiring.
The video report is below.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The Medical Student Section of the AMA, AMSA and the Texas Medical Association have teamed up to support UTMB Galveston students uprooted by the storm. While I’m glad to see that the situation is improving, there’s still work to do. Please check out our page: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/20132.html.
The whole situation in Galveston is a good example of the underside of emergency management often not reported widely–namely, how disaster preparation needs to include recovery efforts as part of the big picture. I’d be interested to know whether a typical hospital emergency plan includes contingencies for massive layoffs as a result of a community catastrophe.