Timeline

Early Beginnings

John Sealy was born in Pennsylvania; and in 1846 having heard stories of the new State of Texas, he moved to Galveston to seek his fortune. Galveston was the principal seaport and commercial center of Texas where he prospered in banking, shipping, railroads and the cotton business

Texas voters decide to locate the future University of Texas Medical Department in Galveston, the largest and wealthiest city in Texas, with the second busiest port in the Country.

John Sealy dies in 1884 and in his will leaves $50,000 for a charitable purpose in Galveston to be decided by his executors. The executors of his estate, wife Rebecca and brother George decide to build a hospital in Galveston with the bequest. The Sealy family pays the additional costs of construction not covered by the bequest and the John Sealy Hospital opens in 1890 at a total cost of $69,126.36. Thus begins the Sealy family 125-year legacy of healthcare involvement in Galveston. The Sealy family’s decision to build a hospital sways the State to finally begin construction of the medical school in Galveston.

For 32 years after the construction of the hospital, and before the creation of the Foundation, the Sealy children contribute to the operation of the hospital. The Sealy children take it upon themselves to pay for repairs, including after the tragic hurricane of 1900. In 1915, the children of John Sealy fund the construction of a woman's hospital which the State matches by constructing a nurses' residence, this is the first hospital in Galveston that catered specifically to women’s issues. Further, in 1916, John Sealy donates $270,000 to remodel and refurnish the main hospital, and from 1914 to 1922 provides $206,000 to pay annual hospital operating costs. In this time period the family continues to acquire property around the school for future medical center expansion.

The children of Rebecca and John Sealy, John Sealy (II) and Jennie Sealy Smith, joined by her husband, R. Waverley Smith, establish the Foundation on March 10th, 1922 to carry on the family’s concern for the healthcare of the people of Galveston. The purpose of the Foundation as stated in its charter is to provide for the construction and remodeling for the John Sealy Hospital and other hospital buildings in Galveston and endowment thereof "for the use of the people of said City of Galveston and providing them with the necessary medical care and attention therein." After the Foundation was established in 1922, the Sealy children continued to support the hospital at their own personal expense until the death of John

John (II) dies on February 19th, 1926. He has no children and the majority of his estate passes to the Foundation.

On July 12th, 1930 R. Waverley Smith dies. After her husband’s death, Jennie Sealy Smith remains on the Board of Directors as the only original family member of the John Sealy family.

The Foundation funds the construction of the Galveston Psychopathic Hospital.

Rebecca Sealy Nurses Residence is constructed.

The Foundation assists in funding the State Hospital for Crippled and Deformed Children which later will become the Child Health Center in 1978.

A new replacement hospital for African Americans is constructed with large contributions from the Foundation, to replace the first minority benefit hospital in Galveston.

On October 12, 1938, Jennie Sealy dies, without any children, the majority of her estate passes to the Foundation.

The 2^nd John Sealy Hospital is constructed with a majority of the funds given by the Foundation.

R. Waverley Smith Pavilion is completed in memory of Jennie Sealy Smith’s husband, which expanded the number of hospital rooms on campus.

Land adjoining UTMB Campus is donated by the Foundation for future hospital expansion.

The original John Sealy Hospital is demolished after over 80 years of service to the people of Galveston

John W. McCullough Outpatient Clinic is constructed which was named for a Foundation Board President.

Four blocks of land adjoining campus are acquired by the Foundation for health, fitness, wellness, and recreation facilities to benefit UTMB’s student population.

Jennie Sealy Hospital is completed providing for private patient health care. The building is funded and maintained entirely by the Foundation.

John Sealy Towers are completed adjacent to the 1953 John Sealy Hospital, entirely funded by the Foundation.

The Ambulatory Care Center’s construction is provided by Foundation funds.

The John Sealy Memorial Biomedical Fund is established by the Foundation for biomedical research. The University of Texas matches the Foundations grant of 25 million, with an equal size endowment. This fund is established to research relating to preventing and treating human diseases and trauma. To present date hundreds of grants have been awarded researching various diseases such as AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The Fund's corpus now totals $110 million.

The Foundation provides funds toward the construction of the Medical Research Building.

Initial funding for the construction of the Ronald McDonald House is provided by the Foundation.

The Foundation purchases the former Lipton Tea Building on Harborside Drive for UTMB's use for support services.

A new Emergency Room is fully funded by the Foundation, becoming one of only three Level 1 Trauma Centers in southeast Texas. The Trauma Center can respond to diverse medical needs such as mass casualties, multiple traumas, closed head injury, severe burns, petroleum industry accidents, heart attacks, and hazardous material exposure. Being treated at a Level 1 Trauma Center has proven to increase a seriously injured patient’s chances of survival by 20-25 percent.

A Level One Trauma Center is fully funded by the Foundation, becoming one of only three Level 1 Trauma Centers in southeast Texas. The Trauma Center can respond to diverse medical needs such as mass casualties, multiple traumas, closed head injury, severe burns, petroleum industry accidents, heart attacks, and hazardous material exposure. Being treated at a Level 1 Trauma Center has proven to increase a seriously injured patient’s chances of survival by 20 - 25%.

The Sealy Center for Structural Biology and the Sealy center for Cancer Cell Biology are established.

The Foundation purchases St. Mary’s Hospital, adjoining UTMB Campus, rechristened the Rebecca Sealy Hospital.

The Foundation purchases the Port Holiday Mall on Harborside Drive, and provides funds for the construction costs for the conversion of the mall into the Primary Care Pavilion for UTMB clinics. The Foundation owns and provides for the maintenance of this building and surrounding grounds for UTMB free of charge.

The Foundation provides the funds to create UTMB’s Sealy Center on Aging.

The Foundation purchases and remodels the bank building at 700 University Boulevard to create the UTMB Eye Clinic. The Foundation owns and provides for the maintenance of this building and surrounding grounds for UTMB free of charge

The Foundation funds the construction of a Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory, which is the first such BSL-4 lab constructed on a university campus in the United States. The existence of the BSL-4 Lab is a significant factor for construction of the first federally funded National Laboratory in Galveston following the events of September 11, 2001.

The Foundation purchases two robotic surgery units. These units were the first of such used in Southwestern United States.

A grant is given by the Foundation to fund Teen Health Center, creating clinics that are located in Galveston Public Schools.

The Foundation participated in the funding for the expansion of the Ronald McDonald House.

Discussions begin with UTMB for a replacement of the Jennie Sealy Hospital.

The Foundation funds a new Multi-Organ Transplant Center.

The Foundation contributes to the renovation to the Truman G. Blocker Burn Unit in John Sealy Hospital

A grant from the Foundation purchases much needed radiological equipment, including a linear accelerator and five digital mammography units.

On September 8^th 2008, much of Galveston and UTMB are devastated by Hurricane Ike. The Foundation responds in a way indicative of their past in philanthropy. In danger of closing, the Foundation along with UTMB administration lobbies the Texas Legislature to not only keep UTMB open but to expand the campus and increase enrollment. UTMB begins the rebuilding process, hardening many of the facilities to resist future storm damage.

Together with UTMB the Foundation lobbies the Texas Legislature to help rebuild the campus. The Foundation and UTMB move forward with rebuilding the campus. The Foundation grants $30 million for the revitalization and modernization of John Sealy Hospital. In addition, the Foundation contributes funds for architectural plans for the new Jennie Sealy Replacement Hospital.

The Foundation grants $170 million toward the construction of a new Jennie Sealy Hospital. The single largest gift to a University of Texas institution in its history. The hospital is to be located on property owned by the Foundation; the sites of the first Jennie Sealy Hospital and the former Shriners Burn Hospital.

Surgical Pathology, Autopsy, and Mole Cytogen Laboratories and offices are constructed with a $10 million dollar grant.

The Foundation provides the buildout for the first two floors of its building at 2200 Market Street for the UTMB Human Resources Department, free of rent and maintenance expenses.

The interior and exterior renovations of John Sealy Hospital is provided by a grant of $75 million by the Foundation. This Hospital will be a service provider primarily for the needs of women and children.

Jennie Sealy Hospital opens on April 9^th, 2016. The facility boasts 310 patient rooms, including 60 dedicated ICU beds, a 28 bed day surgery unit, and 20 state of the art operating suites.

Jennie Sealy Hospital opens on April 9^th, 2016. The facility boasts 310 patient rooms, including 60 dedicated ICU beds, a 28 bed day surgery unit, and 20 state of the art operating suites.

The Sealy and Smith Foundation is awarded the Santa Rita Award, the highest honor of the University of Texas System for the Foundation’s continued dedication to the Medical Branch with total contributions to the University to date exceeding $900 million, and being the largest single entity contributor to a UT System institution. The Foundation continues the Sealy family tradition of concern for the healthcare of the people of Galveston. The University Of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) includes the John Sealy Hospital and Jennie Sealy Hospital as well as 25 buildings and facilities donated or owned by the Foundation. Over the decades, the Foundation has made grants totaling over $900 million for healthcare related projects, programs, and state of the art medical equipment to UTMB on Galveston Island. In addition to supporting the UTMB mission financially, the Foundation provides logistical assistance, owning and providing non-medical maintenance of clinics and Foundation properties utilized by UTMB in the furtherance of its mission. The Foundation is a Type III supporting organization.

The Foundation awards a $12.4 million dollar grant to begin construction of the Jennie Sealy Heart and Vascular Center. This best in class facility will include a Cardiac Catheterization and Electrophysiology suite, and will be invaluable in supporting the advanced procedures required by UTMB patients with complex medical issues.

The John Sealy Institute of Vaccinology is established by a $10,400,000 grant to UTMB, and a $2,000,000 chair is established to help provide further research in developing new Vaccines.

In conjunction with UTMB the Foundation awards a grant which creates the Patient Access Initiative. This Initiative was established to help facilitate patient care by adding two internal medicine doctors to reduce Patient wait times.

The Sealy & Smith Foundation provides a grant to help with the construction of the new Health Education Center. This state of the art facility will enable students from the schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions and Graduate Biomedical Sciences to train together in an engaging learning environment.

A new grant was given to UTMB to further the mission of Teen Health, bringing the total grants awarded to Teen Health Center to $12,900,000 since inception. The Grant was to help operate an additional location in Moody Early Childhood Center that focuses on care of infant children to 3 years of age.

A grant of $25,000,000 was given to UTMB to construct Phase III of the John Sealy Hospital Renovation Project. This grant will fund a New Patient Rehabilitation Unit, New Patient Behavioral Health Unit, Resident Sleep Rooms, Sleep Lab and Encephalography Unit (EEG), as well as relocating Dialysis to Waverly Smith Pavilion.

As the Covid Pandemic began to spread the Foundation stepped up quickly to provide pivotal early support of the UTMB patient care and research enterprises. The Foundations early support made it possible to purchase critical new scientific instruments to enhance much-needed high containment laboratory technologies to ramp up Coronavirus research, which in turn created diagnostic tests to study therapies to help create the antivirals to combat COVID-19. The Foundation provided grants over $8.5 million for research equipment and establishment of a tissue biorepository.

Nearly $10 million was awarded to UTMB by the Board to fund the design work and renovation of the Emergency Room and Trauma Center, recognized as the most technologically sophisticated emergency care facilities in the state and an official American Burn Association Verified Burn Center

The Board awarded over $17 million to UTMB to purchase new equipment to provide the newest in advances in clinical care. The grant included funds to purchase a pharmacy robot, a PET/CT Scanner, a Linear Accelerator/CT Treatment Simulator, a Neuro Bi-Plane Interventional Lab, and a Hyperbaric Chamber.

The Sealy and Smith Foundation extended a three-year grant of nearly $4 million to sustain the Teen Health Program in Galveston area schools for all school age children.

The Board of Directors authorized a grant of $850,000 to upgrade the BSL-2 space to a BSL-3 space which will help provide lab research space in conjunction with the expansion of the Galveston National Labs

The Foundation gave a $16 Million grant to establish the Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery to fund innovative scientific approaches to counter numerous diseases. The program attracted a $56 Million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/

On March 10, 2022, the University of Texas Medical Branch formally named its medical school the John Sealy School of Medicine. The designation honors Texas entrepreneur and philanthropist John Sealy, pays tribute to the Sealy family’s charitable contributions to UTMB, and recognizes the organization John Sealy's son, daughter, and son-in-law established that same day a century ago. The event took place in the surgical amphitheater of Old Red, the state’s first medical school, where University of Texas System representatives, UTMB leadership, and Foundation board members signed the official document on a historic partners’ desk that originally belonged to the Sealy family. The collaboration between the Foundation and UTMB has improved medical care on Galveston for a century and counting, and will continue to do so for generations to come.