[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20207]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      UTMB EMERGENCY ROOM OPENING

  (Mr. OLSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the folks in 
Galveston, Texas, who have worked to make the reopening of the 
University of Texas Medical Branch emergency room possible.
  Last September, Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, swamping parts of the 
island and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. The emergency 
room's floor is at one of the highest physical elevations on the 
island, more than 30 feet above sea level. Yet the power of Ike's 
damage delayed the reopening of the emergency room until last week. 
Southeast Texas lost one of three level one trauma centers, putting a 
strain on the whole region.
  But thanks to tremendous community support, the emergency room will 
begin receiving patients and eventually offer the same level of trauma 
care it did before. Every minute counts in a life-threatening 
emergency. And the reopening of this facility will help provide timely 
emergency medical services to the area residents.
  As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, I am committed 
to continue to do all I can to ensure complete recovery for the 
impacted areas of Texas by Ike. This is a tremendous step forward for 
the recovery of Galveston and the neighboring communities devastated by 
Hurricane Ike.
  I wish UTMB, its doctors, its nurses, and its staff a successful 
future. Welcome back.

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