President’s Cabinet Awards 

Carolyn Nelson-Becker, EdD, CNM
OB/GYN General Outreach

Last year there were 1,308 premature babies born at UTMB. After significant care, these babies transition home but the stresses experienced in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit can have lasting effects on the infant and its family. This initiative seeks to train Community Health Workers and integrate them into UTMB’s Regional Maternal and Child Health Program. By focusing on educating family members on how to care for these fragile babies at home, the Community Health Worker will serve as a bridge between the hospital and home.

Cara Geary, MD, PhD
Kathy Ozenberger
Eva Blight
Pediatrics

Established in 2010, the Perinatal Hospice and Palliative Care Program has served as a support system for parents whose baby has received a terminal diagnosis. President Cabinet funds will allow this program to be expanded to 14 obstetric clinics, the emergency department, and the UTMB inpatient obstetric department. Coordinated efforts relating to staff education, family counseling, community support groups and special care packages for mothers and families are the central elements of this outstanding project.

Richard Rupp, MD
Bridget Hawkins, PhD
Sealy Center for Vaccine Development

Anti-vaccination campaigns and misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines have led to a decline in the immunization rates in many states over the past five years. To increase the rates of immunization in Galveston County, an extensive educational campaign using podcasts, videos, newspaper and magazine articles, a public website and a customized Facebook page will be launched. Community presentations and special interactive quiz and advertisement slides will be displayed just prior to movie previews in local cinemas in an effort to reach a larger and diverse audience.

Ryan Erwin
UTMB Police Department

In the event of an active shooter, this project will increase the training and communication efforts of police officers with the UTMB Police Department, the Galveston Police Department, the Port of Galveston Police Department, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Houston-Clear Lake Police. Instead of using paintball guns, special simulation equipment will be purchased to provide more enhanced and realistic training scenarios. Quarterly sessions will be conducted among these multiple law enforcement agencies.

Margaret Resto
School of Nursing

While a majority of St. Vincent’s patients qualify for free or discounted sleep apnea evaluations, they are unable to afford the equipment and supplies to treat the disorder. This program will identify uninsured or economically disadvantaged patients diagnosed with sleep apnea and outfit them with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and related supplies. Nurse managers will make home visits to set up and demonstrate the equipment and patients will be monitored and evaluated regularly to measure results.

Rimma Osipov
Christine Horstmeyer
School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Health Professions and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Lack of coordination between student-led patient care initiatives can cause patients to be lost to follow-up and therefore decrease service effectiveness. Students Together for Service will establish a coordinating board for the UTMB student service organizations and integrate the work of St. Vincent’s Clinic, Frontera de Salud, S.I.G.H.T. and the student service associations of the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Health Professions and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. This consolidated effort will avoid redundancy of services, bring greater efficiency to the allocation of materials and volunteers and enrich educational opportunities for students from all four schools.

Karen Chapman
Marte Hersey
Center for Audiology and Speech Pathology

Research estimates that nearly 795,000 Americans will suffer from a stroke annually. While stroke is a leading cause of death, it is also the foremost cause of long-term disability. In an effort to provide stroke survivors and their caregivers a support mechanism and the ability to re-establish and promote independence, this project creates the UTMB Stroke Support Group. Participants will network at bi-monthly meetings and learn about stroke and stroke prevention, food and nutrition, hurricane preparedness, depression and much more. Free transportation will be provided for economically disadvantaged individuals.