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| Vol. 25, No. 1 |
| January 15, 2003 |
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FROM THE PRESIDENT It’s a new year, and with it comes many changes. In the Texas Medical Center, many exciting things are taking place. For example, Ben Taub General Hospital, one of two Level I trauma centers in the area, is renovating and expanding its emergency center. With the addition of 6,500 square feet, this $2.1 million project will expand the center’s capacity and modernize the facility, enabling the Ben Taub staff to provide the most up-to-date and world-class care for which the Texas Medical Center is known. Another visible change taking place in the Texas Medical Center this year is the implementation of TMC’s Wayfinding Master Plan, designed to make navigating the ever-growing and always-changing streets in and around the TMC campus easier. The plan should be completed within 36 months, and includes signs, a few of which are already in place, that are easily visible by pedestrian or automotive traffic. The plan also calls for a traffic “sorting” system that will funnel cars and busses onto the appropriate streets before entering the heart of the campus. One of the most visible pieces of this master plan will be a series of totem pole-like signs, each of which will stand 30 to 40 feet tall, and identify the Texas Medical Center’s most visited destinations. This new year also welcomes new leadership. The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office will be led by Luis A. Sanchez, M.D., the former senior deputy chief medical examiner, who stepped up as interim chief for a 90-day period when Joye M. Carter, M.D. resigned last October. At TIRR Systems, the parent organization of The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research and its satellite rehabilitation centers, John Kajander will serve as acting president and Charles Beall will serve as acting president at TIRR. These proven professionals will fill the roles vacated by E. Ashley Smith, who has accepted a position as vice chancellor of governmental affairs and policies with The University of Texas System in Austin. We welcome these new leaders and wish their predecessors well. Along with these positive changes, there is also some disturbing news – due to blood withdrawn from shelves because of the risk for West Nile virus, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (the human form of “Mad Cow” disease), low donor turnout during the holidays, and fewer corporate blood drives due to the economic downturn and corporate downsizing, we are now faced with a severe blood shortage. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and its institutional participants, including The Methodist Hospital, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, are asking the public to make a New Year’s resolution to give blood three times in 2003. With January designated as National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, I can’t think of a better way to kick off the year. To refill the depleted shelves, fill the back orders for blood in the region’s 200-plus hospitals and health care facilities, and assure that there is enough blood to go around in case of major traumas, at least 800 units of blood will have to be collected each day. By giving blood and giving often, you can do your part to assure that these institutions have enough blood to operate and save lives. You never know – the life you save by donating blood may be your own.
©2006 Texas Medical Center
E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
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