The Galveston National Laboratory was officially opened on Veterans Day. I was one of many invited guests. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was a keynote speaker. She was born at UTMB, and Galveston is her hometown.



The man to her left is Dr. David Callender - President of UTMB. And that was yesterday. Today Dr. Callender was in El Paso along with the University of Texas Board of Regents to decide on next steps for UTMB. This afternoon the anticipated announcement was made: 3800 full-time jobs will be cut, severely downsizing the island’s only hospital. That's about a third of the payroll.

UTMB has been losing $40 million a month as it makes its payroll with no hospital from which to derive revenue - thanks to Ike. This was brutal news for employees who have been unable to return to work since the storm surge flooded 750,000 square feet of buildings, including the 550-bed hospital.

This leaves families, some of whom also lost their homes, reeling, and businesses that depend on medical branch crowds, fearing for their futures. UTMB has been around for 117 years, and the regents have promised it won't go away. The new highly specialized infectious disease lab is the only such operational facility in North America and is a key piece of the research to be done on everything from bioterrorism to ebola and dengue viruses. But that's the research part. It was the patient care component that took the huge hit.

The medical center incurred $710 million in Hurricane-Ike related expenses and only $100 million in flood insurance, the most it could obtain. It was exciting to see the National Lab dedicated. Too bad it's overshadowed today with such heartbreaking news.