University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, Texas)

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The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of downtown Houston. It is the oldest medical school west of the Mississippi River. It is a health care complex spanning 85 acres (344,000 m²), with six hospitals, 13,000 employees and an assortment of specialized clinics, centers and institutes, including a medical school.

It was established in 1891 with one building and fewer than 50 students; today UTMB's campus has grown to more than 70 buildings and an enrollment of more than 2,500 students.

Since its founding, UTMB has served indigent or poor populaces, such as single mothers, the homeless and prisoners, including ailments that are very expensive to treat (such as burns). It is one of only a handful of hospitals in the Greater Houston area that does so. It is currently certified as a Level 1 Trauma Center, one of the few in the Greater Houston area. In fact, because of its level of specialized care, UTMB serves many indigent patients from across the state. The UTMB campus includes a Shriners Hospitals for Children and a prison hospital that serves 80 % of the state's inmate population [1]. Annually, UTMB spends about $500 million on indigent care.

In 2003 UTMB received funding to construct a $150 million National Biocontainment Laboratory on its campus, one of only two in the United States and the only one on a university campus. It houses several Biosafety Level 4 research laboratories, where studies on highly infectious materials can be carried out safely.

It has schools of medicine, nursing, allied health professions, and a graduate school of biomedical sciences, as well as an institute for medical humanities.

UTMB also has a major contract with the Texas Department of Corrections to provide medical care to inmates at all TDC sites in the eastern portion of Texas. UTMB also has similar contracts with local governments needing inmate medical care.

Address:
301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX 77555-0144
UTMB Operator: (409) 772-1011

Website: www.utmb.edu/