Galveston County Daily News, July 5, 2009
This article is first in a series about efforts to restore UTMB to the status and capability it possessed before Hurricane Ike. Gov. Rick Perry last month signed legislation giving UTMB the means to restore capacity at John Sealy Hospital to pre-Hurricane Ike levels. However, if Galveston County wants 550 hospital beds on the island, it will have to pay more toward treating its own uninsured and underinsured residents. Come November, county leaders will ask voters to either approve an increase in existing property taxes or to create a hospital district.