Hey Tally,
I heard that on the news about UTMB thats so sad and all those people being laid off and loosing everything.

Glad to hear from you. Glad you and your family are ok. What a mess Ike caused. Is there anything you need?

We might go to Galveston but that depends on when they schedule my 2nd knee surgery and how fast I heal afterwards and if I can ride the bike. If we do get to go it will be Sat the 14th just for the day. Do you have the same phone number? If not send me a number how to get in touch with you.
Take care

Janet
jsplants@yahoo.com

Tally,

I also read about the UTMB lay offs. It is so sad.

My DH has been going to Galveston and Texas City off and on for the past month. The first time he drove into Galveston, he was shocked at what he saw. He said it is a major mess. And we were there during Alicia and Allison. It is so sad. One of my cousins on the West End lost her house. So many people are suffering.

My prayers go out to all of you that are suffering so much.

Linda

Opps! Sorry about posting that twice.

Wow that is so not cool. PJ

Unfortunately, most colleges in the state are struggling to maintain their levels of operation, in the face of the state's drop in tax revenues, led by the large drop in sales tax revenues.

Medical center or not, it is still a state institution, and budgets are very tight.

Doesn't help much, Tally, but that is the state of things. Hope that you can find work in another facility, if you are directly affected (and I suspect you are.)

All I can say is I hope you and all those other people who have lost their jobs are able to find jobs in the same fields elsewhere. The jobs are out there and might require a move, but in times like these, we need to go to where the work is.

Yes, the majority of us can find another job. BUT, and this is a BIG BUT!, we can NOT find jobs on the island. Moving is not a viable option for the majority of us right now. After all we have just been hit by a major hurricane. Noone seems to realize how bad this storm was. It is the largest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. It has already become the THIRD most expensive storm to hit the US, after Katrina and Andrew and the costs are going up daily.
Money is even tighter on the island, we had to evacute and stay away from our homes for two weeks. The cost of gasoline was almost $4 per gallon when we evacuated. We spent over $500 just on gas to evacuate everyone, then we had to drive back and forth, trying to get on the island, trying to find FEMA.... A lot of people, most of my family, didn't get paid while we were gone, and there is no money coming in to anyone on the island. The majority of stores, restaurants and other business' are closed. Blockbuster, Hollywood video, HEB, Arlans, The Yacht Club, Bath Junkie, Nates... these are a few of the business' that won't reopen. We spent the money that would have been used to pay utilities, house notes, car notes on evacuation. FEMA approved EMERGENCY housing for me 4 weeks after the storm. My mom got approved last week!! My brother was told he could live at his house and was denied housing-he had 9' of water in his house!!

Most neighborhoods are devastated. Over 1/2 of the island still has no power, or gas. Debris lines the streets. Mold is everywhere. The hospital is closed. That means that the indigent of Texas have NO place to obtain medical care. Yes, people have died from lack of medical care. Several after the storm because they couldn't get dialysis, cancer and heart patients have died because they couldn't get care. Even a small injury means you are lifeflighted to Houston because UTMB is basically a clinic right now instead of an ER. There is no level 1 trauma center near us, the closest is over an hour away in downtown Houston.

Add to that the fact that a lot of people that were laid off have been at UTMB their entire careers. One of the busiest internal med physicians was laid off, she was a nurse here, went to medical school here and then into practice-all at UTMB. Dr. Ivey has devoted his entire career to making UTMB the facility it was. It's not possible to find another position at another facility where you will be a tenured faculty at the same standing. A researcher/faculty/nurse/whatever is really going to have to start their career all over again. The people of UTMB worked very hard for years to make this institution what it was, it was hard work and dedication by an enormous number of people to make us one of the highest ranked ER's in the country. To become a magnet hospital. That is gone. Years and years of work, millions of dollars spent, for what? It's all moot now, the programs are closed, the facilities sit empty and rotting.

It was a huge slap in the face too that the University had a big splashy grand opening ceremony to open the bio-hazard lab. The same day they announced that they would be laying off almost 4,000 people and cutting out healthcare for the indigent, and everyone else for that matter. What does this say about us as a society? We can take care of superbugs that can be used for warfare but your grandma with cancer just has to die.

People that have devoted their lives to UTMB, people that stayed during the storm, that worked like demons before, during and after the storm, didn't think about their own safety, these are the people that UTMB fired. The nurses at the access to care were back to work less than a week after the storm, they worked in a hallway of a clinic, with NO guidance, they handled every single patient call, they refilled prescriptions for transplant patients, for cancer patients, diabetics, pain patients, etc. with no physicians available, they didn't know where anyone was, what was going on, their homes were destroyed, some lost their vehicles, yet, they went to work everyday and they took care of patients, they managed to save lives, to fill needs and worked under terrible stressful conditions. And their reward? They were all laid off, have to reapply for their jobs and only 9 of 15 will be "rehired". AND to make it even worse they will have to work through the holidays, they will be working Christmas day, Christmas ever, etc. and then will be unemployed!

Employees were called at home and told to come in for a meeting, they were pulled away from their desks where they were working, and then, in a room full of people were told they were being laid off, then sent BACK to work! Can you imagine? You've lost everything, you are struggling to keep it together, you're family is scattered, your car flooded, your dog lost and then to be told you are being laid off but you have to work through the holidays! UTMB systematically shut down the other health care facilies n the island, they drove off private physicians. There was a plan to do this. It was not accidental. And now they have abandoned the citizens of not only Galveston but of Texas.
We should all be outraged at what has and is happening here. There are still people missing, the cadaver dogs located multiple locations but they still have NOT been searched, it's too remote, there is no money. How much do we spend daily on the war in Iraq? Yet, there are people living in tents and cars, people are dead and their bodies rotting in the marshes, there is no medical care for the indigent, the city is fighting over where to put the FEMA trailers-some morons are worried about the "image" of trailers on Broadway, there are boats on 61st, the beachfront and bay are full of debris. Hitchcock, Freddiesville, San Leon, LaPorte, Bolivar and multiple other small communities are devasted and forgotten. The fishing industry is in ruins, oyster beds/reefs destroyed.

The decision by the UT board of regents was not economically based, please don't make that mistake, it was a cold and calculated move that they have been trying to accomplish for years. Ike was just the excuse.

I used to be proud to work at UTMB, I am now embarrassed. I used to love living in Galveston, now I am disgusted and heartbroken. I will stay. I will continue working at UTMB but I will never be happy working here and I will never trust them. I will never trust the city management. I'm almost afraid to drive over the causeway, what if they decide again not to let us in?

This is our home. This is our community. Our roots run deep. We survived hurricanes before but we have never had to survive the powers that be. We might not survive them. What Ike didn't destroy the city management, the UT board of regents, FEMA and the state governments may just destroy. Forever.

Tally

The US has always had a knack for giving billions of dollars to "help the needy" in many foreign countries, but the US has always been neglectful of the needy, within our own borders.

The reality is, the country would rather send billions into the pockets of petty dictators, around the world, to buy favors from foreign countries, when it serves the government's purposes, but they couldn't care less about needy Americans.

Don't look for any changes from the new administration, either. All indicators at this point, are it will be "business as usual", in Washington.

rick, you hit on something that has driven my husband crazy for years....people in the US homeless and hungry and we give the money away to foreign countries.

Of course, it is always the poor who suffer the most.

I, too, fear the new administration will change nothing. I hope for the best though.

What a sad time for your area. I have heard nothing on the news since the disaster hit. You all need another Brad Pitt to take up your cause. He seems to be all over the place about New Orleans. (He is a native son of our town)

I wish we'd deal with our own issues before mailing away a check too. So many people hungry and starving right here in the US :( PJ

This makes me angry/sad at the same time. I loved Galveston.

I want to make donations that will get to our folks, but I don't know who to give to. Tally, if you know, let us know.

The Salvation Army or the American Red Cross. Both organizations showed up right away, they stayed for about 2 months. They fed us 2 meals a day, provided snacks, water, ice, cleaning supplies, personal care products, garden hoses!, ran the shelter, donated tables and chairs when they broke down their tent city.... I'd give the money straight to them, the red kettles are out and you can donate at either website. Forget going through the United Way, they take their cut!

The Lighthouse Cooking Team, I think they have a website or you can find them through Moody Methodist Church. They cooked lunch and dinner for over a month then provided lunches for another month. They also cooked for other cities that were affected by the storm.

The Mormons. They provided cleaning supplies, water and teams of volunteers who showed up, went door to door and did what you needed, carried out furniture, pulled down fences, tore out sheetrock. They are still here working.

The Church of Christ. They cooked meals, provided household goods, clothing, food boxes-these are great! they have everything including can openers, plates, plasticware, napkins, they even drove around in a big truck to bring the food boxes and ice to us.

Catholic Charities vounteers, supplies; Southern Baptist Men-showers, laundry, meals, supplies; The Church of Christ-clothing, volunteers, supplies; Americare.

All these groups and more, lots of small churches, the Mennonites even provided canned food, volunteer organizations, kids, they showed up and just pitched in. No red tape, no waiting, no denials. They fed us, TIDE did our laundry-they set up a big trailer and for 2 months you dropped off you laundry and they washed, dried and folded it. The Southern Baptist men set up showers and laundry facilities and then provided shampoo, soap, washcloths, towels, everything. People came from Mexico, Canada, all over the US. If our government worked half as well as these groups the city would be back. The Benevolent and protective order of Elks provided monetary relief to all it's Galveston members.
Give to the charity of your choice. We would never have made it without them. The best help came from our fellow Americans not our government. And they are still here, still working and helping. And I just want to say

THANK YOU EVERYONE IN AMERICA!!! WE ARE THE GREATEST COUNTRY THERE IS!

Tally Ho!

Wonderful message Tally! "The best help came from our fellow Americans not our government." This is what we are here for.

This weeks "Texas Gardener's Seeds Newsletter" has an interesting article on Ike's effects on the dunes and marshes of Galveston.

Tally you are absolutely right! I've only been in one catastrophic event (I'm from California...3 guesses...) I was 20 miles from the epicenter of the Northridge quake. The earthquake did catastrophic damage 52 miles away so my area was hit hard. Whoo hoo!
It was the local/nearby city churches,law enforcement and healthcare workers that did 95% of the relief. Fema came in after it was over with some rebuilding money. We barely needed the Red Cross or the Salvation army. I make sure if I join a church they give of themselves when needed. PJ