Home ۞

The Galveston Burn Center

An international center of excellence for burn care treatment of the effects of radiation, chemical, thermal and inhalation injuries.

 History

• 1947 Texas City explosion killed 653, injured thousands & inspired new models for treating mass civilian casualties

• Dr. Truman Blocker opened burn unit at UTMB

• UTMB began treating Shriners patients in 1963

• First Shriners Burns Hospital opened on the UTMB campus in 1966

• UTMB Blocker Burn Unit & SHC-G have a unique association, sharing clinical & research staff, as well as facility space & equipment, thereby creating a stronger dynamic team through collaboration

• Best survival statistics in the country

Medical and Scientific Staff

• 69 professionals in various fields of expertise

Education: Clinical and Research Fellowships

• Research Fellowships (yearly): 3 NIH Burn and Trauma, 2-4 Shrine, 2-4 funded extramurally

• Clinical Fellowships (yearly): 2 ACGME accredited, 4 Shrine

• 160 clinical and research fellows trained to date (129 MDs, 2 MD/PhDs, 27 PhDs, 1 DO, 1 DVM)

Outreach Activities

• Web page to facilitate education (bilingual 2009)

• Teleconferencing: International Burn Conferences

• Telemedicine efforts active nationally; international telemedicine clinics in 2009

Professional Activities

• Past presidents of the American Burn Association & International Society of Burn Injuries

• Service on NIH review committees for research

Bibliography

• 14 current books (Total Burn Care book is considered a World renowned reference for burns)

• 750 manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals 2001-2009

Funding 2009

• $13,018,963 extramural grant funding

• $5,094,731 Shriners Hospitals for Children

• $1,475,997 other (Private grants)

• $3,428,001 US Government

• Chairs and endowments for burn researchers

• $12.5 million endowment from BP for “Remembering the 15” Fund

UTMB Galveston/Shriners Hospital Innovations and Discoveries

• Early excision, wound closure and use of cadaver skin for coverage

• Development of effective skin banks

• Development of hypertonic saline resuscitation

• Development of Tissue culture and artificial skins

• Investigation of perturbations to modulate the hypermetabolic response post-burn

• Discovery of increased metabolic rate in burn patients and methods to modulate this response:

Agents: Growth hormone, oxandrolone, fenofibrate, propranolol, and insulin

Lifestyle: Diet, exercise

• Development of nutritional requirements and enteral feeding

• Ketamine anesthesia

• Development of pressure garments for scar management

• Stable isotope methods to measure muscle, liver, & wound metabolic pathways in burn patients

• Use of proteomics and genomics to modulate burn injury and predict outcomes of burn patients

Current Strengths

• National and international reputation for providing excellence in trauma and burns care

• Active research programs, federal grant funding and interdepartmental collaboration

• Center of excellence in trauma and tissue healing, with applications for victims of burns and trauma

Rebuild of the Truman Blocker Burn Unit

• $25M grant from BP Petroleum

Current Initiatives

• Develop action plans for disasters that could occur throughout the region

• Provide Advanced Basic Life Support training to county fire departments, emergency rooms & ICUs

• Prepare a plan to obtain large amounts of blood and skin quickly

• Improved university programs in procurement of skin for skin bank

• Treatment issues:

• Continued work toward improvements in mortality and morbidity in the very young and very old

• Anabolic agents and exercise programs to speed recovery and rehabilitation

• Research issues:

• Improved psychological care promoting successful reintegration of patients into society

• Smart medical monitors for automated critical care assessment & treatment recommendations

Shriners Burns Hospital

American Burn Association

Blocker Burn Unit