Tag Archives: UTMB

UTMB gets grant for a gun study

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be very interested to see what they learn. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston will be at the forefront of an emerging field of study after receiving a $2 million grant to study ways to … Continue reading →

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More on our future doctor shortage

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is unsustainable. Abortion restrictions have forced Texas obstetrician-gynecology residency programs to send young doctors out of the state to learn about pregnancy termination, a burdensome process educators say is another example of abortion bans undermining reproductive health care. At … Continue reading →

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Hospital systems have no excuse for not mandating COVID vaccines now

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So get on with it already. Local hospitals reacted Friday to President Joseph Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates directed at the health care workers, who make up much of the Houston workforce. In a move that overrides Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive … Continue reading →

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Houston Methodist tells its employees to get vaxxed or else

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Four out of five Houston Methodist employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. The sliver who are not will be suspended or fired if they refuse the shot, according to company policy. The hospital required managers to be … Continue reading →

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Ebola treatment progress

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. Texas scientists who developed an effective vaccine for the deadly Ebola virus are now reporting promising results with new medication to better treat full-blown cases of the disease. In a laboratory study published this week, researchers at … Continue reading →

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Galveston, ten years after Ike

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Overall things are better now, but not for everyone, and nothing can ever truly be the same as before. Galveston has a long and storied history dealing with epic storms, and the destruction Hurricane Ike wrought was no different — … Continue reading →

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Plague vaccines

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. More than six centuries after the Black Death wiped out more than a third of the population of Europe, a University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston team has shown that in experiments with rodents, their three vaccines effectively … Continue reading →

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UTMB continues to do well post-Ike

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. The morning after Hurricane Ike crashed into Galveston Island six years ago, David Callender surveyed the sea of mud coating the 84-acre University of Texas Medical Branch campus. The UTMB president saw oak tree limbs blocking the … Continue reading →

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Ebola treatment progress

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. A study out [recently] shows that an experimental treatment for Marburg virus – a close cousin to Ebola – can be given after symptoms of the terrible disease have started to appear. […] One experimental drug – … Continue reading →

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Working on Ebola in Galveston

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Given what’s been going on lately I thought this would be of interest. As the worst recorded Ebola outbreak in history sweeps across West Africa, hope for a cure is centering on scientists thousands of miles away at the Galveston … Continue reading →

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Who wants to live in Galveston?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Galveston would like to know. Although the city is still rebuilding with new private investment and hundreds of millions in federal disaster money, Galveston finds itself at a crossroads and confronting fundamental questions: Will its population continue to shrink until … Continue reading →

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Trauma centers feel the pinch, too

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Like everything else in the state, trauma centers at hospitals will see their funding get cut, and they are warning about the consequences. The officials from Memorial Hermann, Ben Taub and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston came … Continue reading →

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Prison health care

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just another dimension to the complex budget picture. An early casualty of impending state budget cuts could be the health care contract that serves most of Texas’ 154,000 prison convicts. Top officials at the University of Texas System, whose Galveston … Continue reading →

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AAUP criticizes UTMB for post-Ike layoffs

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston and the University of Texas System (UTS) violated established and widely accepted guidelines on academic freedom and tenure when it laid off more than 2,400 faculty and staff in the … Continue reading →

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Better days ahead for UTMB

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is not only coming back, it’s growing. Although the UT Board of Regents authorized 3,800 layoffs, UTMB officials announced that about 3,000 jobs would be cut. The actual number turned out to … Continue reading →

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Shriners Hospital reopens next month

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in July, delegates at the national Shriners convention voted to reopen the burn hospital for children in Galveston. The date to reopen has now been set for November. The hospital, a world leader in burn research and source of … Continue reading →

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UTMB’s comeback

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is great to see. A bigger and better University of Texas Medical Branch is rising from the debris of Hurricane Ike, with more than $1 billion in repair, refurbishing and new construction under way or being planned. The UT … Continue reading →

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A year after Ike

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One year after Hurricane Ike made landfall over Galveston, the news is surprisingly positive for the island, though many challenges still remain. The Lege helped Galveston in a number of ways for this year, such as requiring UT to reopen … Continue reading →

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Shriners Hospital in Galveston to reopen

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Delegates at the national Shriners convention meeting in San Antonio voted Monday to reopen a world-renowned burn hospital for children in Galveston, closed since it was damaged by Hurricane Ike in September. Convention delegates voted to keep open … Continue reading →

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UTMB to open emergency room

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. The University of Texas Medical Branch is scheduled to open a full-service emergency room Aug. 1 for the first time since Hurricane Ike inundated its campus more than eight months ago, relieving pressure on overburdened emergency rooms throughout the … Continue reading →

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Joe for Galveston

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From my inbox, some good news from Joe Jaworski: Galveston matters, and the Island’s next Mayor must ensure this message is clearly understood: Galveston is more than a storm ravaged Island with a history; it is an iconic Texas coastal … Continue reading →

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Settlement in UTMB lawsuit

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hot off the presses. University of Texas regents today settled an open records lawsuit, agreeing to give hiring priority to 2,400 employees laid off at UTMB in December, one of the plaintiffs said. In return for dropping the lawsuit, the … Continue reading →

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UTMB versus Shriners

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this might help keep Shiners Galveston Hospital open. The University of Texas Medical Branch on Friday asked a judge to stop Shriners Hospital for Children Galveston from locking its doors and imperiling millions of dollars in shared burn research. … Continue reading →

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A setback for Shriners

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. Local Shriners vowed Wednesday to take their case for reopening the storm-damaged Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston to convention delegates after the national leadership again decided to keep it closed. Officials of the 1,000-member Galveston-based El Mina Shrine … Continue reading →

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If UTMB, why not Shriners?

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The recent news that the UTMB Hospital will remain in Galveston and is now rehiring laid off workers was great to hear not just for Galveston but for the larger region, which really needed the facilities. Now that this one … Continue reading →

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UTMB rehiring

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is good news, though it does make you wonder what the point of all the initial layoffs was. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, which laid off more than 2,400 employees last fall because of damage caused … Continue reading →

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UTMB hopsital to stay in Galveston

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. The University of Texas Medical Branch hospital, still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ike, will remain on Galveston Island under a plan approved today. The decision by the University of Texas Board of Regents … Continue reading →

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UTMB layoff lawsuit update

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this last week. A lawsuit challenging the layoffs of nearly 3,000 employees at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will be fought on home turf, a state district judge ruled Wednesday. The courtroom audience applauded as Galveston … Continue reading →

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