The John Sealy Modernization Project is officially underway. This large-scale construction project, funded in part by a generous grant from The Sealy & Smith Foundation, represents UTMB’s commitment to providing patients and their families with the very best in care and facilities.

As of Wednesday, August 11:

• Interior demolition began on the 2nd floor (BICU) of John Sealy Hospital.
• Interior demolition began on the 3rd floor (C/D wing) of John Sealy Hospital and the 3rd floor of the John Sealy Annex

Beginning Friday, August 27:

• Interior demolition will begin on the 7th and 8th floors (C/D wings) of John Sealy Hospital.

Signs in English and Spanish are posted to clearly identify the work areas, and there are plastic infection control barriers in place at all access points. These controlled access points should be used only by authorized personnel.  

For updates, visit the UTMB construction web site at http://www.utmb.edu/construction/.

The Office of Public Affairs has created the official UTMB Facebook page. The new page joins several that already have been created by departments and programs at the university; the new page will cover news and accomplishments from an institutional perspective. We invite you to visit the page at your convenience and click “like” to follow our updates and comment on our posts.

Kudos to UTMB’s outpatient clinics for achieving a “statistically significant improvement” in overall patient satisfaction from Press Ganey, a national leader in health care benchmarking. Casey Peterson, director of clinic operations, and Susan Tyler, director of ambulatory care nursing, attribute this success to the hard work of our employees and process changes. Although the reporting period recognized by Press Ganey was December 2009 through February 2010, the results represent a long-standing commitment on the part of faculty and clinical staff to creating the ultimate patient experience.

Virtually everyone associated with UTMB has had questions about the potential impact of health reform legislation on the nation’s academic medical centers, particularly now that the bills have been signed into law. The laws will require formulation of numerous rules and procedures at the federal and state levels, and there is sure to be a response from the private health insurance market and every category of health care provider. For this reason, UTMB cannot predict all the effects with any certainty. But Dr. Ben Raimer, senior vice president for health policy and legislative affairs, has prepared this health reform overview based on his initial analysis of the laws and their provisions.