The UTMB Newsroom Feed | All Categories

UTMB offers ‘Sunday Screenings’

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:59:00 GMT

Free screening mammograms for uninsured Galveston County residents

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and The Ruth Kempner Endowment for Breast Cancer Screening are partnering to provide free screening mammograms for uninsured women in Galveston County.

Uninsured women with limited transportation resources may have difficulty getting to scheduled mammography screening appointments or forgo their annual screening mammograms completely. In an effort to reach these uninsured women, UTMB Health is bringing its mobile mammography van to churches in Galveston County.

Uninsured program participants do not need to be members of these church congregations in order to receive a free screening mammogram and breast exam. However, participants will need to pre-register for the program and meet the following eligibility requirements:

·         Legal resident of Galveston County

·         40-64 years old

·         Uninsured with no mammogram coverage through the Medicaid and/or Medicare health care systems

·         Not pregnant

·         Have not received a mammogram in the last 12 months

·         No personal history of breast cancer in the last 5 years

·         No current breast pain, breast discharge or palpable breast abnormalities

The mobile mammography van will provide free breast exams and screening mammograms for pre-registered, uninsured women from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20 at Avenue L Baptist Church in Galveston. For information, call 409-762-8795.

The van will also visit the Greater Barbour’s Chapel Baptist Church in Texas City from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 3. For information, call 409-935-1100.

To enroll in the program, pick up a registration packet from either church office, the Radiology Department at UTMB in Galveston or the UTMB Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes in League City.

If you have any questions about the program, call UTMB Radiology at 409-772-6874.

Inside UTMB: Renovated Primary Care Pavilion to reopen Monday

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:02:00 GMT

News in this week’s Inside UTMB: During the next six weeks, about a dozen UTMB clinics will be moving from other campus sites to the newly renovated Primary Care Pavilion; the Healthy Health Policy Lunch and Lecture Series continues with “Responding to community concerns on air pollution’s health effects”; May is Better Hearing and Speech Month and the UTMB Ear, Nose & Throat Consultants and Center for Audiology & Speech Pathology will be offering free screenings Monday through May 24; the pathology department celebrated its 18th annual research day with exhibits and awards.

UTMB’s Benkula honored for leadership in business

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

UTMB’s Bonnie Benkula was named the 2012 recipient of the League City Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Leadership Award on Wednesday, May 9. The award is presented annually to an exemplary leader who has achieved excellence in her business or profession, served the community in a meaningful way and, most importantly, actively assisted women to achieve their full leadership potential.

We must unlock mysteries of treating chronic brain injury

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:56:00 GMT

In this guest column, UTMB School of Health Professions Dean Elizabeth Protas writes about the study and advances of traumatic brain injuries. “Every day, we move closer to finding new answers. At the medical branch, together with our colleagues at the Transitional Learning Center, we will continue to seek innovative ways to work with brain-injured patients and their families so they can all look forward to fruitful, fulfilling futures.” The Moody Foundation of Galveston recently pledged $9 million to $18 million to support traumatic brain injury research at UTMB. The column also appears in the Daily News.

Applications open for University of Texas clinical lab degree program

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:53:00 GMT

Applications are now being accepted from long-term unemployed individuals for the UTMB Clinical Lab Sciences degree program. This program is part of UTMB’s Clinical Laboratory Initiative to decrease the shortage of clinical laboratory science professionals in the state and provide careers for the long-term unemployed. Student tuition for this program is fully funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Did doctor’s arrogance kill a president?

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:39:00 GMT

UTMB student Alyssa Marie Shell writes about one doctor's mistake that might have led to the death of President James A. Garfield. The column is based on a presentation she made to the Osler

UTMB health fair this Saturday in Victory Lakes

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:44:00 GMT

UTMB will host a community health fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at the UTMB Health Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes. The fair, which is free and open to the public, brings together UTMB volunteers and medical experts to inspire all of us to lead healthier lives.

Victoria could soon see first transplant center

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:42:00 GMT

UTMB’s Dr. Luca Cicalese, director of the Texas Transplant Center, plans to open Victoria’s first transplant center in the coming months. Cicalese has been looking at a study that showed some populations were under-served when it came to transplant centers. The region serves about 250,000, but Cicalese includes the nearly 400,000 residents from Corpus Christi and those in the rural areas as part of the region's population pool. The center initially will deal with multi-organ transplant services in regard to pre- and post-operation. Transplants would be handled at UTMB's Texas Transplant Center.

University of Texas Medical Branch awarded grant from March of Dimes

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:40:00 GMT

UTMB has been awarded a $150,000 grant by March of Dimes. Receiving the grant on behalf of UTMB was assistant professor Muge Kuyumcu-Martinez. The two-year Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award will fund Kuyumcu-Martinez's research on congenital heart defects, the most common type of major birth defect. In her lab, Kuyumcu-Martinez studies the heart's development from its earliest embryonic stages to adulthood.

UTMB Health hosts community health fair Saturday

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:42:00 GMT

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will host a community health fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at the UTMB Health Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes, 2240 Gulf Freeway South in League City.

The community health fair brings together UTMB volunteers and medical experts to inspire all of us to lead healthier lives.

In addition to live stage entertainment, refreshments, demonstrations and how-to clinics, activities offered at this year’s fair include:

·         Free health screenings (including vascular and glucose screenings)

·         Glaucoma screenings

·         Blood center donor drive

·         Tours of UTMB Health locations

·         Children’s activities and a petting zoo

·         Zumba and CrossFit demonstrations

The fair is free and open to the public. For more information, call 832-505-1000 or visit utmbhealth.com.