Awards

Dr. Samuel Mathis, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, will serve a one-year term as the new physician board member.

Whether educating tomorrow’s health care work force, making groundbreaking research discoveries, or providing excellent patient care to the communities we serve, physicians at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) work together to improve the health of Texas.

UTMB Health is working to develop one of the largest, most comprehensive trauma networks in the region, and recent developments at Clear Lake Campus are bringing the institution closer to that goal.

UTMB Health has been named to the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list. Specifically, UTMB ranked in the top 15 nationwide among major teaching hospitals on the list. IBM Watson Health recognizes hospitals of all sizes in five different categories – major teaching hospitals, large community hospitals, medium community hospitals and smaller community hospitals.

The Clear Lake Campus laboratory has earned its College of American Pathologists accreditation following a recent, initial inspection in which 860 regulatory standards were met and zero deficiencies were found—a rare accomplishment, especially for new labs. This recent success speaks to the lab team’s day-to-day attention to detail and commitment to ensuring all UTMB patients receive the best quality of care.

UTMB was awarded with the American Heart Association's (AHA) Gold Plus Stroke and Target Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll. The AHA Get With The Guidelines program is a continuous quality improvement program developed with the goal to save lives by measuring hospitals' adherence to secondary prevention guidelines (pharmacological and lifestyle interventions) for coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

For the fifth year in a row, the University of Texas Medical Branch has been recognized with the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Gold Quality Achievement Award. This award signifies that UTMB has reached an aggressive goal in using guidelines-based care to improve outcome for patients who suffer cardiac arrests in the hospital. Guidelines include following protocols for patient safety, medical emergency team response, effective and timely resuscitation (CPR) and post-resuscitation care.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has been recognized for the third consecutive year for delivering high quality patient care, receiving a 2019 Vizient Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award. The award recognizes top performing comprehensive academic medical centers for demonstrating superior quality and safety performance as measured by the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study.

UTMB is now the only institution in the Greater Houston Area—and 1 of only 5 in the State of Texas—to have a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) fully-recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DPP providers like UTMB can help people with prediabetes prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems by offering evidence-based, affordable and high-quality lifestyle change programs.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Silver Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of pediatric patients who suffer cardiac arrests in the hospital.

For the fourth year in a row, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Gold Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of adult patients who suffer cardiac arrests in the hospital.

UTMB’s Galveston Campus stroke program has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

The three-year, full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons, is given only to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.

UTMB’s Galveston Campus attains Comprehensive Stroke Center accreditation from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), validating UTMB’s commitment, expertise and readiness to care for victims of complex strokes. According to DNV, “the Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification encompasses the full spectrum of stroke care—diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and education—and establishes clear metrics to evaluate outcomes. Comprehensive stroke centers are typically the largest and best-equipped hospitals in a given geographical area that can treat any kind of stroke or stroke complication.”

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has achieved a Level IV designation, the highest ranking, from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

UTMB Health's health care system has received another A grade from the Leapfrog Group for its accomplishments in reducing errors, infections and accidents that can harm patients. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

UTMB is proud to announce the re-certification of its Cardiac Rehabilitation program by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). The Cardiac Rehabilitation program was recognized for its commitment to improving the quality of life by enhancing standards of care. Cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with cardiovascular problems and pulmonary problems recover faster and improve their quality of life.

The hard work and dedication of the breast imaging team has resulted in national recognition. The program has been designated a “Center of Excellence” by the American College of Radiology. UTMB was one of the initial two programs in the Houston area to receive this prestigious honor, and one of the first in Texas to receive the designation.

UTMB has been recertified as a Level I Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee of the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. This achievement recognizes UTMB’s dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.

The stroke program at the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston campus has received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association's “Get with the Guidelines” Stroke Silver Plus Achievement Award. The award recognizes this hospital for its continued success in using the Get with the Guidelines — Stroke and Target: Stroke program. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.