Faculty and staff of The University of Texas (UT) School of Public Health in Houston began returning to work on Thursday, September 18 following Hurricane Ike’s landfall in Galveston, TX on Friday, September 12. Classes were cancelled for the week, with students expected to return on Monday, September 22. "That’s when it will feel like we’re returning to normal – when our students come back," said Dean Guy Parcel, as he toured the building inspecting for damages. Although the damage to the coast and to the Houston area was significant, the school withstood the storm. There was no structural damage to the building; however, the school suffered a loss of power to some of the upper floors.

Contractors are working to resolve the issue and hope to have the problem resolved by Monday when classes resume.

The university closed on Friday, September 12 to allow people to prepare for the storm and evacuate if necessary. A week later, many faculty, staff and students are struggling to deal with damage to their homes, power outages, and gas and food shortages. Even with their personal struggles, they are coming to work – ready to address the immense public health issues that have begun to emerge post-Ike.

Dr. Roberta Ness, recently selected to become the fourth dean of the UT School of Public Health beginning November 1, maintained contact throughout the storm with Dean Parcel and Sr. Associate Dean Dr. Cynthia Chappell. "Frustratingly, I was unable to get into Houston after the storm to roll up my sleeves, but my frequent phone contact with administration and faculty revealed how impressively everyone rose to the occasion.  What an amazing faculty: despite their own tribulations, within a week they brought UT SPH back to full functioning," she said.

Although much remains to be done, especially along the coast, progress toward recovery in the Houston area has been significant. Both airports are operating at near capacity, gas lines are beginning to diminish, stores are reopening, and power and water have been restored to millions. Additionally, many of the schools across the area will begin to reopen on Monday.

Dean Parcel told faculty, staff and students in a recent E-mail that, "It feels good to be back in the SPH building today and to see some of our usual activities get started. "

The University of North Texas Health Science Center and Texas A&M University School of Public Health have also contributed efforts to help those affected by Hurricane Ike.

University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center doctors, physician assistants, nurses, medical assistants and students were ready to help evacuees of the hurricane by treating, testing and caring for evacuees in shelters across the Metroplex. In addition, the employees of the UNT Health Science Center have contributed $5,000 to the Tarrant Area Food Bank whose supply of food has been severely strained by the recent disasters. The contribution was made through the UNT Health Science Center Fund for Excellence. Please click here to read more about UNT’s efforts.

The USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health has a continued tradition of providing assistance to local area health departments in mounting their public health response during an emergency, including responses to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, utilizing a team of faculty, staff and students headed by USA Center staff.  In response to Hurricane Ike, the USA Center, working through the local Community Emergency Operations Center, is providing on-going human resource support for surveillance and other public health support functions in shelters located in the Brazos County area. (For more information about the USA Center, please click here.)