82R26621 MMS-D

By: Anchia H.R. No. 2060

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas continues to excel at its mission of conducting internationally recognized research, educating leaders in the health field, and delivering quality medical care; and

WHEREAS, This renowned medical center comprises three degree-granting institutions: the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Medical School, and the School of Health Professions; and

WHEREAS, The UT Southwestern Medical Center boasts a long history of discoveries that have changed the way the world thinks about the most challenging and devastating diseases and that have resulted in important improvements in treatment and outcomes; these discoveries have led to an unprecedented number of coveted national and international honors for UT Southwestern faculty, including election to membership in our nation's most prestigious medical research organizations; and

WHEREAS, One measure of the esteem in which the faculty is held is the fact that it includes 95 percent of all men and women at state health-related institutions in Texas who have been accorded membership in the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors attainable by an American scientist; with the recent election of Dr. Luis F. Parada, an expert in nerve growth and regeneration, to membership in the NAS and with the recruitment of another NAS member, Dr. Bruce Alan Beutler, an expert in medical genetics and immunology, the UT Southwestern faculty now includes 20 individuals who have been inducted into the academy; and

WHEREAS, The UT Southwestern Medical Center is also home to 100 percent of all scientists based at state health-related institutions in Texas who currently hold appointment as an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a coveted honor that brings many millions of dollars in private grant funding to Texas; moreover, four researchers at the medical center have won the Nobel Prize, and three of its Nobel Laureates are still active members of the faculty; and

WHEREAS, Through its own hospitals and through associated health care facilities, UT Southwestern delivers patient care that is among the best in the nation; U.S. News and World Report recently ranked the medical center number one among hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; the faculty and residents of the center care for nearly 100,000 hospitalized patients and oversee approximately 1.9 million outpatient visits each year, and faculty physicians annually provide $427 million in unreimbursed services to indigent patients, more than is provided by any other health-related institution in the state; and

WHEREAS, UT Southwestern also plays an important role in the region's economy, employing 11,000 area residents, managing an annual operating budget of nearly $1.5 billion, and bringing to Texas $415 million in external research grants annually; and

WHEREAS, Dedicated to improving health care through research, innovation, and education, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is developing the next generation of lifesaving treatments and health care professionals, and it is indeed deserving of commendation for its extraordinary record of achievement; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby honor The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas for its distinguished contributions in research, education, and health care and extend to all those associated with the institution sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the UT Southwestern Medical Center as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.