Since no one has come up with a solid name for the current economic crisis just yet, I thought I’d put my $0.02 in and call it “The ’08 Funk.” Or something. It’s definitely funky in more ways than one on Galveston island, which continues to pick up the pieces from Hurricane Ike in September.
The Funk has hit close to home delivering a double-whammy on Ike-wrecked Galveston as the University of Texas Board of Regents yesterday approved laying off 3,800 employees at the island’s University of Texas Medical Branch. Most of these layoffs at the facility, which includes the UT Medical School, will come from John Sealy Hospital. The hospital has gained nationwide recognition over the years for its burn unit. In addition to being Galveston’s largest employer, UTMB also has become the de facto indigent facility for a great deal of Texas.
Since the hospital will continue to focus on activities which make money that will likely mean its serving as the major medical provider for the Texas prison system will not be altered, even though some indigents might have to do without. That’s a great incentive for staying well, but perhaps not for staying out of prison.
Every day the news just seems to get better and better.