GALVESTON — University of Texas Medical Branch employees are still unsure about which of them will have a job after Nov. 14.
President David L. Callender told about 600 people who packed in to Levin Hall on Tuesday he didn’t have any answers to the work force situation because so many other people have a say in what happens at the state’s oldest medical school.
Although the organization’s operations are slowly returning, the medical branch is not doing enough business to cover its $70 million monthly payroll.
Earlier this month, officials said they thought they would have to lay off a third of the medical branch work force — about 4,000 employees — but state legislators offered enough money to keep the island’s biggest employer afloat until they could agree on a more permanent solution.
Hurricane Ike left the medical branch with $710 million in damage and lost revenue when it made landfall on Sept. 13, flooding most of the campus buildings with several feet of water.
Medical branch officials are waiting on the state to decide how much of the damage it will pay to repair and how much money it will continue to send to the island for ongoing operations.
On Tuesday, Callender said administrators wanted to err on behalf of medical branch employees, giving them the widest options available for their future, said Marsha Canright, a medical branch spokeswoman.
The meeting was open only to university staff members. Members of the media were not allowed to attend.
Administrators have organized several job fairs on campus to help employees find a new place to work if they want to, Canright said.
But Callender told employees on Tuesday he hoped the medical branch would come back as big as it was before the storm, although previously he said the hospital likely would be scaled back to about 200 beds when it reopens next month.
Callender’s message left some employees feeling relieved, but others were clearly frustrated as they left the meeting.
Most refused to talk about the situation, saying only that they hadn’t heard anything new or of substance.
Lynn Bell, a registered nurse who has worked at the medical branch for almost five years, said she felt more hopeful after listening to Callender’s talk.
“I feel more like administrators are on our side,” she said. “But I still don’t know whether to take a new job or not.”
Bell has been offered a job at a Houston-area hospital, but doesn’t want to take it if she can stay in Galveston.
“I love my job, and I love working here,” she said.
Valerie Peterson, who works in the information services department, said she was still worried about her job, even though Callender’s message was positive.
Callender encouraged medical branch employees to continue to appeal to their legislators for help, Peterson said.
He told them whatever they were doing was working, Peterson said.
