Archive for the 'Institutional Information' Category

SPECIAL BULLETIN: Galveston National Lab, Keiller Building, & Shope Lab

Published
by
Information Services
on September 13, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 3 Comments

Despite rumors to the contrary, the Galveston National Lab (GNL) has suffered no damage as far as we can see.  The building was at the end phase of construction.  There was no research taking place and no one is occupying the building.

The Keiller Building did experience some flooding in the basement but the rest of the facility is fine.  There has been no loss of biocontainment or biosecurity.  All labs were decontaminated and secured prior to the arrival of the storm.  All agents have been stored in proper containers.  The Shope Lab within the Keiller Building also remains secure.

UTMB Emergency Operations Center

UTMB Emergency Operations Center Update

Published
by
Information Services
on September 13, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 5 Comments

UTMB is fine.  There has been only one minor injury.  A damage assessment of the campus is in progress.  We are asking all employees to remain inside until it is safe to go out.  We do not yet know when we will release people to go and check their homes.

We are currently on emergency power and we are working to bring systems back online.  The ED is providing emergency services only until further notice.  Today three patients and one family member were safely transferred out of the hospital.  As the water continues to go down, we are expecting more patients.  Communications and power are still intermittent and we are working to stabilize them.

Employees and Media needing additional information can call the UTMB Emergency Operations Center at (409) 770-9038.  We will provide regular updates at 12:00 noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and special bulletins if needed.

UTMB Emergency Operations Center Leadership

FM: UTMB email now available

Published
by
Family Medicine
on September 13, 2008
in Family Medicine and Institutional Information
. 5 Comments

Thanks to those fabulous folks in Information Services, UTMB email is back online. It looks like Blackberry services are now back online too.

To access your email, go to http://ems.messageone.com. Use your full UTMB email address as your login name, i.e. jmessex@utmb.edu. Use your regular UTMB email password.

Please remember you will not see messages that were sent or received prior to the switch to the emergency email system. (You’re also going to see all the spam that UTMB usually filters out for you. Please be careful and remember — don’t even open emails that don’t come from a sender you recognize and should be getting mail from.

If you log on online you have full access to the Global Address Book. I’m not sure if this is available from Blackberries.

Will post/broadcast more as I get more information.

For those who are away and trying to see images. NBC Channel 2 in Houston is streaming a live broadcast online and right now they are transmitting images of damage. Also, a Galveston Daily News reporter, Leigh Jones, is posting updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/leighjones.

-Julia

Message from the UTMB Emergency Operations Center

Published
by
Information Services
on September 13, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 0 Comments

UTMB is fine.  We have had only one minor injury.  All research labs remain secure.  Obviously we have had some water and wind damage and we are assessing that right now.  Our top priorities are getting four ED patients evacuated from the hospital and getting the ED ready to accept more patients.  Communication and power are spotty, we have a few slippery floors, and no AC but again UTMB is fine.

Look for future communications on this site and on UTMB’s emergency home page, internet address 129.109.242.13.  You can also try www.utmb.edu.

UTMB Emergency Operations Center Leadership

Information Services 9:30 am Update

Published
by
Information Services
on September 13, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 0 Comments

The most important thing is that all staff are safe.  At Admin we have power and AC.  There is no running water.  The water around the island is subsiding but there is still a lot out there and it is raining now.  Admin got some water on the first floor but that has cleared and Police has moved back to dispatch.  The emergency ‘orange’ phone system is working inside and externally.  We have Internet only through Sprint cards.  Facilities may be having difficulty getting fuel to the generator so we may only have about 2 hours of AC left but they’ve taken great care of us so far and they are trying to get more fuel here.  All systems have been shut down so a power shut down will only impact the staff.  We will try to do a conference call later today.  Time to follow.  Thanks…Todd.

Information Services 1:30 am Update

Published
by
Information Services
on September 13, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 1 Comment

Things have deteriorated fairly quickly here.  We have lost several connections including main campus Internet, External Phone Service, and Amcom Paging out of Levin Hall.  The main campus phone switch cannot call out but works internally.  The ‘Orange Phone’ Emergency Phone Switch is working for outside and long distance dialing.  John Sealy and Old John Sealy Routers are under water we believe because we can’t connect to them and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) can’t logon to their computers.  The EOC moved from 7th floor to 5th floor due to power issues I believe.  There were several incorrect reports of MRB and Levin being on fire but the EOC has confirmed that the fire was at a house behind Pharmacology.  EOC just informed us that the generator for Trauma was down also so as you might expect water and power just don’t mix.

Due to the lack of Internet connectivity, we have activated (at 12:50 a.m.) our e-mail continuity solution via MessageOne.  We are hoping Blackberry users will be able to get e-mails again and for our customers in the hospital this and phones would be their only communication mechanism.  All of you externally can access your e-mail on MessageOne by connecting to ems.messageone.com, enter your e-mail like tleach@utmb.edu and then your current UTMB-USERS-M password.  You won’t have your old messages but you can send and receive new.

Right now we are in the eye of the storm and it is very, very quiet.  Water is coming into the first floor of Admin as we speak and the television news reports that the highest storm surge is at the back of the eye.  Most of the staff here are bedding down and trying to get some sleep before the winds return.  It is clear that IS will have some significant work to do after this storm (may take some real creativity).  It will take all of us and things won’t be back up Sunday.  Have a good night and we will communicate sometime in the morning.  Thank goodness for Sprint cards!!!!!  Todd

Information Services 10:30 pm Update

Published
by
Information Services
on September 12, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 0 Comments

I just sent the following communication to UTMB’s Emergency Operations Center:

Due to problems with the backup chiller, we need to shut down all systems in the Administration Building data center except e-mail and Internet access. We will coordinate with clinical staff and print all required EPIC documentation prior to shutting it down. We will also be shutting down the mainframe (Invision, Signature, & the Student Information System) as soon as a nightly Signature job stream finishes around 11:00 p.m. Shutting these systems down in an organized fashion will help us bring them back up much more quickly.

At present, the Levin Hall and Trauma data centers are fine with non-chilled water air handlers. The one in Trauma supports the telephone system the Emergency Operations Center. Again, our priorities will be to keep the communication systems up as long as possible. If you have questions, call us. Thanks…Todd.

*** End Message

I really appreciate the EOC’s understanding as their response was “Perfectly Understandable.” Too many systems were reporting over 105 degrees. We may still have to switch to MessageOne (backup e-mail before the night is out).

We have some good pictures of the 2.5 to 3 feet of water in the circle in front of John Sealy. It is up to the top of those planters in front of Admin. We will try to get them posted after system shutdowns complete. We still haven’t seen the worst and what we have seen is already pretty amazing. We will keep you posted…Todd.

Information Services 8:30 Update

Published
by
Information Services
on September 12, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 1 Comment

Well winds have picked up considerably now and at times the Admin building sways just a little (new experience for this storm on-site rookie). The portable chilling solution has been off and on and the temperatures in the admin data center are still rising. Levin and Trauma are on DX Air Conditioning and are fine right now. We continue to be worried about the roof in Levin.

We are starting an extensive list of Tier 3 server shutdowns in admin and we have gotten the go ahead from David Connaughton to shut down Hyperion servers. Many of the EPIC development, test reporting, and training systems have also been shut down.

Phone systems, server systems and network equipment can no longer be remoted into in Lipton, Shearn Moody Plaza, Frost Bank, Rebecca Sealy, and 700 University. Brian Grimm reports much of our network equipment is down (hopefully due to power and not flooding but a good portion may be flooded soon anyway). With Frost Bank down on power, our correctional customers will be without systems (Emerald & PRS) for a few days. The WAN team is looking at alternatives and I’m sure after the storm that it will involve Huntsville in some way.

Our focus now is on communication systems (e-mail, Internet, Blackberry) and a few clinical systems (EPIC and Invision for a transfer or two).

We will have another update at 10:30 p.m. Hope all of you are safe. Todd

Information Services Portable Chilled Water Activated

Published
by
Information Services
on September 12, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 0 Comments

UTMB is in the process of starting the portable chiller that will support the data center in the event the main campus chilled water plant fails (and it will fail in this storm).  It is a little early but the concern is that once winds pick up, staff will not be able to be sent out to activate it.  Let’s hope the forecasts are wrong and it stays above water.  Unfortunately when we turn on the portable chiller, portions of 4th floor admin get a little warm so we will all have to make do.

 

On a totally different note, Landon Winburn clarified that the IS picture site that I shared early in an Information Services broadcast is only available on the UTMB network.  If you are accessing it from outside UTMB, you can use  http://129.109.242.13/ike/.  Thanks…Todd.

Information Services 2:30 p.m. Update

Published
by
Information Services
on September 12, 2008
in Institutional Information
. 0 Comments

There is considerable rising water already on Galveston Island and the winds are just now starting to pick up.  The National Weather Service is issuing Dire Warnings to people in coastal areas and the news continues to interview people who are riding out what they are saying will be a huge storm surge.  UTMB is now updating the 77-ALERT line and the red WEATHER button on the home page every three hours.

 

This afternoon’s timeline & information:

 

David, Steve, and I will be attending or calling into a 4:30 p.m. conference call with the State of Texas in the Emergency Operations Center.  A UTMB meeting about storm plans and preparations will follow.

At 5:30 p.m. tonight, we will have another IS meeting in 4.100 Admin to update everyone on what we heard at 4:30 p.m.  We will also open a conference call line for staff outside Galveston to hear what is going on.  Anyone copied is welcome to call in (forward as necessary). The number is 877-226-9790 and the access code is 3060078.  We will be using this for all conference calls during the storm so keep it on hand.

 

Thank you to everyone who has forwarded contact lists and staff locations to us in the OCC.  First and foremost, make sure your supervisor knows where you are and how to get a hold of you.

 

With the increasing winds, the IS on-site staff will soon be treated to a delectable menu of MRE choices including BBQ Beef, Chicken Noodle, Chicken & Rice Italia, and Pancakes.  Thankfully these were ordered and they arrived just in time.  If we could only find the white tablecloths.

 

An IS special forces group (Grimm, Breish, Young, & Ingram) were sent out early today to take pictures of the rising water.  We will be posting the link to these pictures very soon.

 

As always, if we can do anything for you, call us at the OCC at x23873.  Thanks…Todd.