GALVESTON, Texas (AP) _ The University of Texas Medical Branch has reopened its emergency center which was closed for nearly a year because of Hurricane Ike.
The Galveston County Daily News reports the emergency room at John Sealy Hospital had been closed since Hurricane Ike flooded the UTMB campus on Sept. 13.
The Houston Chronicle reports the first patient was treated Saturday at 7:45 a.m.
Before the hurricane, the emergency room was one of the Houston-Galveston region’s three Level 1 trauma centers, but it lost that status.
UTMB official Mike Hill said the emergency room now offers the same Level 1 care that it previously did, but it would take a few months before it can regain that status.