Memorial Hermann Health System is the largest not-for-profit health system in southeast Texas and consists of 17 hospitals, 8 Cancer Centers, 3 Heart & Vascular Institutes, and 27 sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, in addition to other outpatient and rehabilitation centers. It was formed in the late 1990s when the Memorial and Hermann systems joined. Both the Memorial and Hermann health care systems started in the early 1900s. The administration is housed in the new Memorial Hermann Tower, along with the existing System Services Tower (formerly called the North Tower), of the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center.

Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center is a nationally ranked hospital at the Texas Medical Center. It is the first hospital founded in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas (and its founding predates the Texas Medical Center). Founded in 19 ...

(formerly known as Hermann Hospital before the 1997 merger with Memorial Health Care System) was opened in 1925. It was the first of two

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

with a

Level I 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 emergen ...

rating to be located in

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 ...

, inside 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 ...

. It (with

Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital (CMHH) is a nationally ranked women's and pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in Houston, Texas. The hospital has 234 pediatric beds and 76 beds for women. CMHH is affiliated with the John P. and Kat ...

) is the flagship of a large system of hospitals and clinics located in and around the greater Houston area, in various neighborhoods as well as some

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

. The different hospitals are distinguished by further designation indicating their location. (Texas Medical Center, Northwest, Southwest, Woodlands, etc.) The hospital system has been headed by some of the most influential leaders in healthcare including Dan Wolterman, Dr. Benjamin K. Chu as well as the current President & CEO David L. Callender, MD

History

The Memorial Hospital System was started in 1907 by The Rev. Dennis Pevoto who purchased an 18-bed sanitarium in downtown Houston, calling it the Baptist Sanatorium. By the time he retired, it had become Memorial Hospital System, a 200-bed facility. Prominent local businessman George H. Hermann died in 1914, leaving a large portion of his $2.6 million estate for building and maintaining a hospital for the poor and sick of Houston. The City of Houston annexed the site of Hermann Hospital in 1922, adding about of land to the city limits.Lee, Renée C.
Annexed Kingwood split on effects
" ''

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 ...

''. Sunday October 8, 2006. A21. Retrieved on July 6, 2011. Print version exclusively has the information cited; the information is ''not'' included in the online edition. Hermann Hospital opened its doors in 1925, it also started a school of nursing that same year.

Hermann Hospital was the first to operate in the neighborhood which later became the

. In 1943 this hospital was the first in Texas to receive a shipment of the new wonder drug,

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from '' Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum usin ...

. In 1946 it was also the first hospital to perform a

cardiac catheterization Cardiac catheterization (heart cath) is the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart. This is done both for diagnostic and interventional purposes. A common example of cardiac catheterization is coronary catheterization th ...

. It remains the only hospital in the Houston area to have a burn-treatment center. The flagship Texas Medical Center hospital is home to

Memorial Hermann Life Flight Memorial Hermann Life Flight is a hospital-based air medical transport service in Houston, Texas. Prior to 2020, Life Flight flew into 12th floor of the John S. Dunn Heli-Stop atop Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center. In March of 2020, ...

, an emergency and critical-care-transport aeromedical service. Founded in 1976, LifeFlight was the first aeromedical service in Texas, and second in the

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., ...

. It transports around 3,000 patients annually. In 1985 the first successful liver transplant occurred here as well. In 1992 it was also the first hospital in the nation to perform a living-donor transplant on a neonatal patient. In 1993 Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center acquired the region's first

Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation, that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually ...

. The first four-organ transplant in Houston also was performed here in 2006, along with it being the first hospital in the world to perform robotic re-constructive aortic surgery. Hermann Hospital and the Memorial Healthcare System, which at the time had five hospitals, merged in 1997. The "Memorial Hermann" name was first used on November 4, 1997 after the Hermann Healthcare System and Memorial Healthcare System completed their merger, becoming the largest

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

health care system in the nation. MemorialHermannoffices

In August 2009 Memorial Hermann Hospital announced that it planned 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 County Hospital District 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, United States, includin ...

, with plans to make the hospital its third general hospital. However, the county withdrew its bid in September 2009. Memorial Hermann has since made efforts to rebuild the Southwest Hospital.

Awards

Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals

Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital, Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital were collectively named an America's 50 Best Hospital in 2010 and 2011 by HealthGrades.

Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals

Six Memorial Hermann hospitals were named among the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corp ...

in 2011. Memorial Hermann's hospitals were the only ones in the Houston-area to earn the recognition. Collectively, Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital, Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital were awarded in the teaching hospitals category.

Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital is a hospital in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near Katy and in Greater Houston. It is a part of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. Pediatric care to the hospital is provided by doctors from Children's ...

was recognized in the medium community hospitals category in 2010 and 2011. Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital was awarded in the small community hospitals category for the first time in 2011. The management Services program of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System won the 2011 Franklin Award of Distinction.

Locations

Headquarters

The administrative headquarters of the health care system are located in the Memorial Hermann Tower in the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, at the corner of

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

and Gessner Road.Azevedo, Mary Ann. "Memorial Hermann headquarters to anchor west Houston skyscraper." ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

''. July 23, 2006. p
1
Retrieved on October 20, 2013. The headquarters were scheduled to move there in mid-2010. The new Memorial Hermann Tower building and the renovated North Tower in the Memorial City hospital have a total of of space.Azevedo, Mary Ann. "Memorial Hermann headquarters to anchor west Houston skyscraper." ''

''. July 23, 2006. p
3
Retrieved on October 20, 2013. In 2006 Marshall Heins, the system's vice president of construction, real estate and support services, said that the Memorial City location was chosen as the system headquarters because "The Memorial City area happens to be the geographic hub of Houston as well as the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. All our facilities are easy to get to on Beltway 8, so we wanted a location that was close to it." Previously the headquarters were in a facility on

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, ...

U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

( Southwest Freeway) at Bissonnet, in

.Map Major Roads
"
Archive

Greater Sharpstown Management District 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, H ...

. Retrieved on August 15, 2009. Memorial Hermann leased office space in two office buildings, 9301 Southwest Freeway and 9401 Southwest Freeway. The two buildings had a combined space of . As of 2006 the headquarters had 1,300 employees. The 9401 Southwest Freeway building, also known as the Williamstown Office Tower, previously housed TexCon Petroleum Co. and became vacant several years prior to 1997 when TexCon vacated the space. 9401 Southwest Freeway has of space and, as of 2009, was owned by the

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth occurred between 1950 and 1980. Originally ...

company Investment Grade Loans. Moody Rambin Interests is the leasing agent of the building as of 2009. 9301 Southwest Freeway has of space. As of 2009 BGK of Texas owns 9301 Southwest Freeway, and that year Moody Rambin Interests became the leasing company. On July 9, 2010 the hospital system entered into a lease for over of office space with MetroNational Corp., involving the former North Tower and the Medical Office Buildings 1–4 on the Memorial City campus. The hospital system continued to use

Transwestern Transwestern is a privately held real estate firm providing Agency Leasing, Tenant Advisory, Capital Markets, Asset Services and Research to owners of commercial real estate. History In 1978, the company was founded as a real estate developmen ...

to handle the leasing and management.

Hospitals

The locations of the hospital system include: *

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center 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 ...

, (

) * Children's Memorial Hermann, (

) *

, (unincorporated Harris County) - Located east of the city of Katy * Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, (Houston) * Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital, ( Humble) * Memorial Hermann Northwest also known as Greater Heights Hospital, (Houston) * Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital, (Houston) *

Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, formerly Southwest Memorial Hospital, is a hospital in Sharpstown Section 3, in Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown), Houston. It is a part of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. The c ...

, (Houston) * Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, (unincorporated

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

) - Located southwest of the city of

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

* Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center, ( The Woodlands community, Shenandoah) *

TIRR Memorial Hermann TIRR Memorial Hermann (the four initials stand for "The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research") is a 134-bed rehabilitation hospital, rehabilitation and research center, outpatient medical clinic and network of outpatient rehabilitation cent ...

Rehabilitation Hospital, (Houston) * Memorial Hermann Orthopedic and Spine Hospital, (Bellaire) *Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center (PaRC) Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center (Houston) * Memorial Hermann Pearland Hospital, (Pearland) * Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital, (Cypress) * Memorial Hermann Urgent Care (Houston,

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

, Sugar Land, Friendswood)

References

External links

Memorial Hermann Healthcare System

''Booknotes'' interview with Lisa Belkin on ''First, Do No Harm: The Dramatic Story of Real Doctors and Patients Making Impossible Choices at a Big-City Hospital'', April 25, 1993.
{{Coord missing, Texas Hospital networks in the United States Healthcare in Houston 1997 establishments in Texas Institutions in the Texas Medical Center