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We have emergency power in the following research buildings: Basic Sciences, Medical Research Building, Building 17, Galveston National Laboratory, Shope Lab, Old Shrine, Surgical Research Annex, Mary Moody Northen, Dockside, Ewing Hall and Keiller. It is critically important for researchers who have laboratories in any OTHER building to send their “E1 early-return” staff tomorrow so their freezers can be replenished with dry ice. We have received 60,000 pounds of dry ice in the last two days. The laboratory “E1 early return” staff from any other buildings who did not show up today are encouraged to return tomorrow to replenish dry ice if necessary and to assess the state of their laboratories.
Please, only one E1 staff member per laboratory group should return. Please report to the MRB lobby starting at 9:00 tomorrow and wear closed-toed shoes.
We need help moving animal materials and cages because the elevators in several buildings are not yet operational. This is important work to preserve our animal colonies. Any research staff living on Galveston Island — or any UTMB research staff living off-island — who have E1 badges are welcomed to join the ARC team with these important moves tomorrow.
Please report to MRB lobby after 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Our work stabilizing our important research repositories is making good progress. We appreciate your help.

UTMB is still on emergency status and lock down mode. 
 

Non-essential employees cannot return to UTMB or Galveston at this time. Please make sure your supervisor has your contact information. You will be notified if your designation status changes.

Essential employees
Thank you to all who stayed and helped. You should talk with supervisors to confirm your current status and responsibilities.

All employees who have been asked to return to work must bring their UTMB ID badge and essential personnel ID badge. 

Most essential clinical staff are being released today; the health system administration is working on a release and reentry plan. Please wait to hear from your supervisor.

Students
There will be no classes for at least one week; the residency programs are being assessed and residents will be notified accordingly.

Researchers
Only those personnel who have been asked to ice down freezers will be allowed in. CLARIFICATION from earlier post: We have restored emergency power to MRB, Building 17, BSB, GNL, Shope Lab, Old Shrine and Surgical Research Annex. Departments that have research labs with research freezers in any OTHER buildings need to send their E1 early-return staff to campus today to replenish dry ice. 

Patients
We will be back in touch this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest regarding appointments. We have a Disaster Medical Assistance Team on campus attending to emergency situations only.

The next update will come after 1 p.m.
 

With the arrival today of a Disaster Medical Assistance Team on campus, UTMB will turn over its patient care responsibilities for a time to focus on full recovery. This means that we will begin releasing many essential employees (the majority of them clinical staff) over the next few days and calling in other essential personnel to focus on business functions that are key to the recovery effort.
On a related note, because DMAT personnel are here, we don’t need clinical volunteers at this point. If you’re interested in volunteering in some other capacity and you’re an essential employee, please let us know.
The city is now allowing essential UTMB personnel – with ID/E1 badges – back on the island, and supervisors are working on their recovery staffing plans now. Please wait to hear from your supervisor before heading back to the campus. It is too early for research faculty to return. The only essential research personnel we will be able to accommodate at this point are those coming to replenish dry ice.
Although city officials have said that UTMB will be among the first to receive power, we don’t expect that to happen for two to four weeks. As a result, UTMB will remain on emergency status and in lock-down mode for an indefinite period of time.

EDUCATION
There will be no classes for at least a week. Dr. Garland Anderson is working with the deans and residency program directors on the details. Students and residents should continue to check this site, the alert site and phone line, and be on the lookout for First Call messages.

RESEARCH
Dr. Anderson and Research Services personnel are working to bring essential research staff in to attend to animals, freezer repositories and equipment. This is a “protect and preserve” effort only. Active research will not resume at this point. But, with the emphasis shifting from clinical care for the time being, the research facilities are our highest priority.
We have restored emergency power to MRB, Building 17, BSB, GNL, Shope Lab, Old Shrine and Surgical Research Annex. Departments that have research labs with research freezers in any OTHER buildings need to send their E1 early-return staff to campus tomorrow to replenish dry ice.
Laboratory staff in buildings that currently have emergency power should not return tomorrow and will be turned away without access. We will notify you as soon as we can when E1 early-return staff can come back.
The E1 staff who are returning tomorrow should report to the MRB lobby starting at 10 a.m. Please wear appropriate lab-entry attire and bring your UTMB ID/E1 badge. Please try to notify other E1 early-return staff in your department so this message gets widely distributed.

HEALTH SYSTEM
As noted, our clinical activities will be minimal for the next two weeks. Dr. Karen Sexton will be leading the Health System’s efforts to plan for resumption of full services, including hospitals, on- and off-campus clinics, and our Correctional Managed Care enterprise.
Many of our emergency generators are running smoothly. Our communications systems are coming on line one by one. We hope to have water for showers and other essentials within the next couple of days. We do have plenty of drinking water on hand. We are bringing in outside crews and an environmental health team to help with clean-up and recovery.
As Dr. Sexton told employees during today’s 3 p.m. briefing, “We had a plan to care for our patients and our people, and it worked. Now it’s time to step back, take some well-deserved rest, and get this great institution back on its feet.”
Thanks to everyone who’s volunteered to help with the recovery effort. We will be back and stronger than ever.

UTMB remains on emergency status. Employees and students will be advised when they can return. We don’t have an estimated date at this time.

Access to the island is limited to disaster response personnel. The incident command team and area supervisors are working on a plan to bring employees who live ON the island in to relieve staff. We don’t know precisely when, but will do our best to keep you informed. If you are a UTMB employee on the island and available to relieve staff who stayed through the storm, send your name and contact information via this blog, or call 409-747-9038.

Facilities update. Power, water and gas remain the primary issues. The portable generators are working and more are on the way. But most areas are still without air conditioning and lights. The county is working to restore water and natural gas lines to the island and hopes to have at least a temporary fix within 48-72 hours. Two cooling tents and a portable kitchen have been ordered to facilitate food services.

Information specific to the research community will be coming shortly.

Communication internally and with the “world outside” is still spotty. Internet connectivity has been restored in a few areas, but phones still aren’t working, with the exception of those in the command center — and even they aren’t completely reliable. Cell service is sporadic. And there is no email service. However, the National Guard is setting up a satellite dish now, and we hope to have improved communication capability within the next 24 hours.

We have established a central message board and will post phone messages and blog postings (to utmbinfo.com) for employees on a regular basis. We’re also working to establish a few external phone lines so employees can make personal calls out.

Supervisors are working to schedule relief time for employees who live ON the island to check on their homes. A curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. is being enforced on the island.

The Emergency Department has seen nearly 100 patients, but we are encouraging island residents to go to Ball High School (4115 Avenue O), where a DMAT team is stationed to handle the medical needs of island residents. A health station has been set up within the hospital to address any health or emotional needs employees may have.

Human Resources and Finance are working on issues related to payroll, benefits and general support.

Things are improving hour by hour. While everyone is exhausted and sweaty, spirits are still high and we’re looking forward to resuming normal operations as soon as possible. We want to thank everyone for their concern and support.

We’ll provide updates regularly.