Teams rally to aid hurricane recovery efforts
Like many in the Greater Houston area, McGovern Medical School was not spared the wrath of destruction from Hurricane Beryl July 8. But unlike many residents who continue to repair these storm damages, McGovern Medical School has quickly rebounded from its flooded basement thanks to Facilities Planning and Construction.
With Category 1 winds and rain, Hurricane Beryl cut electricity for more than 2 million Houston-area residents and brought widespread damages. The Medical School Building took on 2 to 4 inches of water throughout the south basement (from green to blue elevators)– the result of a failed storm sewer line within the interstitial space of the building’s basement and ground floor.
Basement flooding spanned 35,000 square feet, damaging classrooms, the bookstore, the Surgical and Clinical Skills Center, Supply Mall, and Office of Communications.
The Maintenance and Operations, Controls, and Work Control teams within Facilities, along with the Auxiliary Services Department, had several employees volunteer to be the front line of protection against Hurricane Beryl. The volunteer rideout team at the Medical School included Gerardo Ortega, Rudy Rubio, Tim Ingram, Eduardo Molina, Ed Roberts, Tracey Batchelor, and Dennis Burnaman.
“These folks stayed on campus from Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon when recovery team members could safely navigate the roads of Houston and begin assessments and restoration efforts,” said Steven Bennett, executive director, Maintenance, Operations, Real Estate and Contract Services. “The rideout team’s selflessness and dedication to UTHealth Houston focuses on protecting infrastructure for ongoing research and programs, which aren’t able to pause when storms roll in.”
Facilities Planning and Construction quickly mobilized a recovery team to assess and repair the damages, pumping out water, bringing in fans and dehumidifiers, replacing damaged walls and floors, and sanitizing the affected space. The recovery team replaced the rideout team on Monday morning and consisted of senior project managers, additional maintenance technicians, and administrative personnel, including Tommy Smith, Johnny James, Larry Miller, Keith Collier, and Bernard Hanus.
“The recovery team (and others) have since been working around the clock to repair damages sustained by Hurricane Beryl,” said Julie Lucas, associate vice president of Facilities Planning and Construction. “Special thanks to Senior Project Managers: Laura Berbel, Carlos Cabrera, Tamika Cain-Proctor, Hai Dinh, Crystal Gomez, Kiel Hawkins, Ruben Lucio, Brady Smyth, and Nick Tamayo who all reported to work Monday, shortly after the storm.”
Because of these efforts, the basement will open to regular activities on Monday, July 15.
“McGovern is grateful to Julie and our project teams whose dedication has ensured the basement was only closed for one week,” said Jamie Spencer, executive director, Management Services.