UTMB's ER Room Set to Re-Open Aug. 1

GALVESTON, Texas - Some are calling it the biggest return to normalcy since Hurricane Ike. Beginning Aug. 1, emergency care will be back on Galveston Island.

Right now, transport time for patients off the island is anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Once UTMB's ER reopens, that time will be cut to six to ten minutes.

Residents who've witnessed serious injuries say a return to emergency care will give them peace of mind.

A Houston hospital is where a 12-year-old girl was flown to after police say her sister accidentally shot her over the weekend.

"If UTMB had been up and running, maybe she could have lived," said Thebatha Sykes, a neighbor.

Since September Galveston EMS has been transporting patients off the island at a staggering rate.

There have been 300 medical helicopter flights and at least 6,000 ground transports or seriously injured patients.

"For those patients there are only two Level I Trauma centers currently available, and they're in Houston," said Mike Carr, Galveston EMS.

But that's about to change.

UTMB will reopen a full service ER in about a month, less than a year after Ike's strong storm surge wiped out millions in equipment.

"This is a big step for the island and a big step for UTMB," said David Marshall, interim chief operating officer.

Visitors and residents who are injured will be able to be picked up, treated and transported in less than 30 minutes.

"With someone who is traumatically injured, there's the golden hour, which means the onset of injury to intervention needs to be within the hour," said Carr.

Even though UTMB will have the same services as a Level I Trauma Center, it won't have the official designation for another few months.