The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, including the city of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. The entity's administrative offices are in

Bellaire, Texas Bellaire is a city in southwest Harris County, Texas, United States, within the metropolitan area.. Retrieved on January 24, 2010. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 17,202. It is surrounded by the cities of Houston and West ...

. Harris Health System is an integrated delivery system that provides healthcare services open to all residents of Harris County,

. It is the first accredited healthcare institution in Harris County to be designated as an NCQA Medical Home and one of the largest in the country.

History

The Harris County Hospital District was created by voter referendum on November 20, 1965 and was formally designated as a political subdivision with taxing authority on January 1, 1966. Its creation is largely attributed to the publication of Jan de Hartog's novel ''The Hospital'', which described the horrific conditions of the Jefferson Davis Charity Hospital. The new district replaced an existing city-county system in which the two governmental bodies shared funding responsibility. Quentin Ronald Mease was a founder and chairman of the Harris County Hospital District and chaired the Harris County Hospital Foundation. A ''Hospital District'' is a governmental entity in

, established pursuant to the Texas Constitution or the general statutes of Texas, and its purpose is to provide medical care to the needy residents of a particular county. By 1989, the hospital had exceeded U.S. federal patient mortality rates for two years in a row; Ben Taub and Jefferson Davis were the sole Houston hospitals above their predicted mortality rates. Roger Widmeyer, the district spokesperson, said "We are a very unique hospital because of the number of acutely ill patients we receive. We think the taxpayers understand that we handle a lot of sick people here. A lot of the people we treat don't come to the hospitals until they are very, very sick." By 1990, when LBJ received an emergency room and Ben Taub received an emergency care facility, the district began to assign county residents to each hospital depending on zip code. Residents of northern areas in the county, including patients treated at Acres Home, Settegast, Bordersville and Baytown clinics were assigned to LBJ. Residents of southern areas, including patients at Casa de Amigos, Martin Luther King, Ripley House, Strawberry Road, and West End county clinics were assigned to Ben Taub. In January 2012, board members of Harris County Hospital District approved a rebranding to Harris Health System. The rebranding became effective in promotion of the system starting September 6, 2012.

Hospitals

Its two main hospitals serve approximately one million under-insured and uninsured people, nearly a quarter of the entire population of Harris County, the third most-populous county in the United States. Harris County includes Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States.

Ben Taub General Hospital Ben Taub Hospital is a public hospital located in Houston, Texas within the Texas Medical Center. Having opened in May 1963, the hospital is owned and operated by the Harris Health System and is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students f ...

is a level I trauma center with 650 licensed beds. It is located in the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrat ...

, the largest medical complex in the world, and is staffed by faculty, residents, and students of

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate S ...

. Lyndon Baines Johnson General Hospital is a 332-bed general hospital with a level 3

trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emerge ...

located northeast of Downtown Houston. It is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

. After

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as ...

Hospital closed, LBJ opened in 1989. An outpatient center next to the hospital opened in 2013. Quentin Mease Community Hospital has 25 beds for long-term physical rehabilitation and 24 beds in its geriatric services program. It is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and

. In August 2009

Memorial Hermann Hospital A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

announced possible plans to sell its Southwest Hospital in

Greater Sharpstown Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, ...

to the Harris Health System, which, if purchased would make the hospital its third general hospital. The county withdrew its bid in September 2009.

Clinics

Harris Health System operates 12 Community Health Centers, a dental center, eight School-Based Clinics, 13 homeless shelter clinics and four mobile health clinics. These clinics offer primary care as well as a variety of specialty care such as psychiatry, dentistry, obstetrical/gynecological, podiatry, ophthalmology, pharmacy, psychiatry and counseling, laboratory and x-ray services, HIV/AIDS case management, and a variety of nutrition, health education and social services. Thomas Street Health Center was the first freestanding HIV/AIDS clinic in the United States, and today treats nearly a third of all HIV/AIDS patients in Harris County. Community-based health care centers include: * Baytown: Baytown Health Center *

** Acres Home Health Center - The health center opened on May 17, 1971. **Casa de Amigos Health Center **El Franco Lee Health Center (opened on May 19, 2009) **Gulfgate Health Center (opened on September 18, 2000)Gulfgate Health Center

. ''Harris County Hospital District''. Accessed October 17, 2008. **Martin Luther King Health Center **Northwest Health Center (formerly the West End Health Center, opened 1974) ** Settegast Health Center **Thomas Street Health Center - It opened in 1989 and serves

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

patients. **Valbona Health Center (formerly People's Health Center) * Humble: E. A. "Squatty" Lyons Health Center (opened 1991)Dedicated to Squatty
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Monday June 3, 1991. A13. * Pasadena: **Strawberry Health Center **Pediatric and Adolescent Health Center - Pasadena *''

Unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

s **Aldine Health Center **Cypress Health Center (

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...

) **Danny Jackson Health Center ( Greater Katy) **Pediatric & Adolescent Health Center - Bear Creek Prior to 1991 the county operated a clinic in the Bordersville area of

. In 1991 the Lyons Clinic opened and the county closed the Bordersville clinic. The county's Ripley clinic closed as a result of the opening of the Gulfgate clinic in 2000. The Martin Luther King Health Center first opened on April 28, 1972. Quentin Mease opened in 1983.A Proud History of Caring for More Than 45 Years
" Harris County Hospital District. Retrieved on February 9, 2012. At one point, the MLK health center was located on the first and third floors of Quentin Mease.Martin Luther King Health Center
" '' Harris County Hospital District''. Accessed October 28, 2008. MLK's standalone facility on Cullen Boulevard was scheduled to open in 2009 and free space at Quentin Mease. On May 14, 2010, MLK relocated to a site in southern Houston, on Swingle Road. Acres Homes clinic got a $3.5 million expansion that broke ground in 1999. the dental centers take patients of ages 16 and up with patients under that age referred to the City of Houston's dental clinics.

Administrative office

Its current administrative office is the Fournace facility in

. The facility has ten floors, of which the district occupies seven. The district moved employees from the 2525 Holly Hall, 9240 Kirby and 9250 Kirby facilities, all in the city of Houston, into Fournace. In addition to 2525 Holly Hall and 9250 Kirby, 2636 S. Loop in Houston once housed the Community Health Choice offices. In 1992 the district moved into the Holly Hall building, which has of space. In 2017 the district named the Holly Hall building after Elvin Franklin Jr.

References

External links

Harris Health SystemHarris County Hospital District Official Website
(Archive)

- ''

'' - March 27, 2008
How To Apply For Harris Health Gold Card
{{authority control Healthcare in Texas Hospital networks in the United States Harris County, Texas Healthcare in Houston Buildings and structures in Harris County, Texas Medical and health organizations based in Texas Health departments in Texas