"Galvetraz"

Our clinic is back up and running at normal schedule. Still open on Saturdays in Galveston for now. Population of the island is still down. Much of them are living in shelters - contaminating each other with everything they can share - weird rashes, diarrhea, cough, possible chicken pox today. Some of these back working on their houses. Some back trying to figure out what needs to be done since they no longer have houses. Salvation Army and Red Cross in full swing setting up shelters, feeding people... Still in lines for FEMA. Some people are still in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas - not back home yet. Seeing at the clinic some of our regular patients - many of them coming to the Texas City clinic now, some of the workers/helpers, and those new to the area. "relocated"
So for those of you not down here, here are a couple pictures that I took (while driving - thus the complete lack of good picture). Note: the boats still on the feeder roads. Trash lining the streets.
The interesting thing about the palm trees is that it seems like all the bark was eroded off - by wind or water don't know. All the medians appear as if in the dead of water. The grass is brown. All the oleanders are brown. Trash blown everywhere. Tree limbs scattered about.
The city of Galveston has decided that there is not enough room for trash. Thus, right off of Broadway (aka the big street) in a giant lot - I guess, don't remember - there are giant piles of debris. About three stories tall? Seems to be growing. This is also where they have decided to dump the cars that all got flooded. Some of them look perfectly normal, others crushed under who knows what. One of them still has "just married" on the back windshield :( .
I still haven't ventured through the rest of the town. Worried about nails - although they say most of that stuff is cleaned up. Lots of traffic on the island. Weekends seem busy - all the people coming back to the island on the weekend only, trying to work elsewhere during the week. Lots of people still living with family members. Last thing I heard, 90% of Galveston still didn't have electricity. Says the water is safe to drink?
Reminded of Grapes of Wrath the other day - the pick up parked behind me had a family of about 5 sitting and standing near the tailbed. The back end stacked high with all their worldly belongings. Puppy leashed to the side mirrors. Eating out of cardboard boxed from their free donation food...
Clinic life? Seeing all of UTMB's patients pretty much. UTMB doctors are working at some of the area clinics - hard to track them down. The patients we finaly got into appointments at UTMB missed them because of the storm - those that they actually accepted. They obviously aren't taking referrals so the clinic is trying to track down private practice people willing to take come charity cases - not a commonly accepted practice it seems. Unable to get our HIV patients medicines. Pain patients need pain meds which they are used to getting/addicted to - which we won't give them. Patients with new diagnoses have no where to be seen.
Latest news (which we were told today) is that UTMB plans to cut 4,000 jobs by the end of the year. According to our medical director, they only have like 12,000ish jobs. About 30% people fired? Latest plan was opening with 200 beds in the hospital - were at about 600. ER is open right now at only about a clinic setting like ours. Having to send patients needing hospitalizations up to north Houston....
Here's your update. Definitely makes me so grateful I already graduated!