Programs

Compassion is at the heart of everything we do at Memorial Hermann and is key to delivering on our brand promise of service excellence as we continue our role as a dedicated community partner focused on improving the health and wellbeing of all Houstonians. There are eleven Memorial Hermann acute care hospitals in the Houston metropolitan area, and with 25% of the market share and some of the city’s busiest emergency rooms (including one of only two level I trauma centers in Houston), a more than significant percent of any area healthcare crisis cannot help but fall to Memorial Hermann.  With 102 years of service, Memorial Hermann remains dedicated to respond to the needs of the community regardless of the magnitude.

This longstanding commitment goes beyond responding to acts of recent natural disasters and includes serving the long term needs of at-risk and underserved populations through innovative models of care delivery. 

Memorial Hermann’s Health Centers for Schools program, established in 1996, is an example of one such initiative.  The Health Centers offer access to primary medical and mental health services to over 28,000 underserved children at 32 schools in the Greater Houston area.  Outcome data validates the significant impact the program is having by improving health and academic performance. 

Memorial Hermann’s Mobile Dental Van Program operates as a dental home to uninsured children for 18 schools – providing check-ups, sealants, and necessary restorative care every six months, just as insured children, whose parents do not experience financial and transportation barriers, receive. 

Memorial Hermann’s Neighborhood Health Centers represent a model designed as a medical home for the growing segments of the uninsured who actually are employed.  The Centers charge just slightly over costs.  First opened in 1993, they can provide enormous savings for families without benefits or whose premiums are more in out-of-pocket costs than they can handle. The goal of the Neighborhood Health Centers program is to provide uninsured citizens with a medical home for their routine care and prevent their cases from escalating needlessly to emergency centers.

Awards

Memorial Hermann Community Benefit Corporation has been recognized by many different groups and associations for its innovative efforts to address the issue of healthcare access for the underserved and uninsured.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) NOVA Award
Memorial Hermann as one of only five healthcare systems in the country – and the only one in Texas – to receive the AHA’s NOVA Award, for our System’s commitment since 1995 to the Memorial Hermann Health Centers for Schools.

The second-highest hospital award given by the AHA, the NOVA recognizes programs that work collaboratively and effectively to improve community health status. Through the Health Centers for Schools program, Memorial Hermann partners with three local districts – Houston, Pasadena and Lamar Consolidated – to provide healthcare to students who might otherwise not receive it, keeping these children in the classroom where they can learn.

In Fiscal Year 2007, benefits of this Memorial Hermann program included:

• A nearly 70 percent decrease in asthma problems, emergency center visits and hospitalizations
• A 75 percent reduction in cholesterol levels among those in the cholesterol management program
• Improved grade-point averages and self-reported wellbeing – along with fewer suspensions, detentions and days absent – for those receiving mental health counseling

HISD Hall of Fame Award
Memorial Hermann was inducted into the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Hall of Fame for its creation with HISD of the Memorial Hermann Health Centers for Schools Program. This program benefits uninsured children at 28 schools with onsite full-time primary healthcare or mental healthcare, nutritional guidance and dental services. Memorial Hermann is one of 29 companies to be so honored.

TAPE Gold Award
The Texas Association of Partners in Education (TAPE) recognized Memorial Hermann with its prestigious Gold Award for Texas Community Partnership for Memorial Hermann’s school-based health centers. TAPE works to strengthen student success through volunteer, community and business/school partnerships that enhance the success of young people in school. This award distinguishes Memorial Hermann as a leader in developing innovative partnerships with schools and community partners.

Other Awards

• 2007 VHA (Voluntary Hospitals of America) Leadership Award for Community Benefits Excellence
• Memorial Hermann Health Centers for Schools Program: 2003 Recipient of the Excellence in Community Service Award from Texas Hospital Association
• Memorial Hermann Mobile Dental Program: 2001 Recipient of Texas Dental Association Certificate of Merit
• 1998 VHA (Voluntary Hospitals of America) Leadership Award for Improving Community Health
• 1998 THA Communtiy Service Award Entry - Finalist
• Memorial Health Centers for Schools --Jane Long Clinic: 1997 Recipient of the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber Education Partner Award