There are numerous news articles and reports about the future of UTMB in the wake of Hurricane Ike.   Click here to read the various reports. In the Austin American-Statesman, Dr. Kenneth Shine, interim chancellor of the UT System, says that there will be significant layoffs at UTMB. "We recognize there have to be significant reductions in force on the island. It's a very challenging situation." One reason reductions are necessary, he said, is that the 500-bed hospital at the campus is expected to resume operations as a 200-bed hospital and that the patient load already had declined following Hurricane Rita in 2005, and it's not clear what the island's population - and demand for health care - will be after Ike. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/09/1009utmb.html The article was distributed by The Associated Press and has been posted by news outlets all over the state, including KRIS -TV in Corpus Christi http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9150133&nav=Bsmh    The Houston Chronicle reports that key state lawmakers are determined to devise a plan to prevent large numbers of layoffs at UTMB. The article quotes State Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, as saying that they will try to find money to prevent layoffs at UTMB. "We recognize that this is a human and a financial catastrophe, and there is going to be a need for the state to pitch in. The issue is when and how much," Ogden said. And Chisum said, "Ogden and I are on the same track, and we don't want to release 4,000 employees." The Chronicle article also mentions that UTMB planned to open a pediatric urgent care center today and will begin delivering babies next week. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6048134.html The Galveston County Daily News article focuses on Ogden and reports that he was the lawmaker who stopped a plan to lay off 4,000 UTMB employees. "It seems unfair to tell people on pretty short notice that in addition to all the losses they suffered, by the way, you lost your job. The good news in all this is the state of Texas is in pretty good financial shape, so it's not impossible for us to assist," Ogden said, who also cautions that many political and financial hurdles have to be overcome. http://galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=f8888784c74b1ff4