A Houston Methodist program that provides specialty patient care to uninsured and underserved patients received another multi-million dollar gift from Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

 

Community health clinics provide essential care for those who are uninsured or living outside of the health care mainstream. The Houston Methodist Community Scholars Program partners with local health clinics to allow residents and fellows to train in a real-world environment under the guidance of accomplished physician mentors. Patients receive coordinated, specialty care that is often unavailable in community clinics.

 

“Occidental is a wonderful partner, and this generous support allows our physicians and staff to continue to train future physicians, as well as provide quality health care to the underserved in our community,” said Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO, Houston Methodist. “Thousands of patients across the city have benefited from the Houston Methodist Community Scholars Program since it began.”

 

Occidental’s $6 million gift expands the existing program to include new services in palliative care, as well as a more in-depth look at health disparities in our communities. The gift adds a palliative care fellowship; establishes the Occidental Petroleum Health Outcomes – Quality of Life Improvement Program; and creates an endowed chair in quality and outcomes research – all focused on improving specialty health care services in a community clinic setting.

 

“The Houston Methodist Community Scholars program has improved the lives of so many, and we are proud to expand our partnership with Houston Methodist so that even more people in our hometown can benefit,” said Occidental Petroleum President and CEO Vicki Hollub. “Occidental is committed to strengthening our communities, and this program does just that by enhancing patient access to specialty health care and providing a high level of care to those who otherwise might go untreated.”

 

The Occidental Palliative Care Fellowship will enhance cancer and other services provided at a Houston-area Federally Qualified Health Center. Palliative care is a wide-ranging area, offering treatment for pain, depression, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and any other symptoms that may accompany an illness or treatment.

 

The Occidental Petroleum Health Outcomes – Quality of Life Improvement Program is a collaborative research effort with Texas A&M University, led by Bita Kash, M.D., director of the Houston Methodist Center for Outcomes Research. The program will research and analyze patient data to examine the Community Scholar Program’s impact on health outcomes, cost of care and quality of life.

 

An Occidental Petroleum Centennial Chair in Quality and Health Outcomes Research will be held by a senior researcher who will focus on strategies and policy to close the health disparity gap for underserved and uninsured patients. With the addition of a $500,000 matching gift from Rusty and Paula Walter, the total philanthropic impact of Occidental’s commitment is $6.5 million.

 

Occidental’s gift brings their total contribution to the Houston Methodist Community Scholars Program to $10 million. Houston Methodist’s Community Scholars Program began in 2013 to provide care for neurology patients in Federally Qualified Health Centers and free clinics across the greater Houston area. In 2015, the program expanded to include cardiology, ophthalmology, hematology/oncology, pulmonology, endocrinology and nephrology.

 

Houston Methodist’s community benefits program has provided operational support for clinical and mental health programs, in-kind lab and other specialty care services to more than two dozen Houston area agencies since 1994.

 

For interview requests, contact Gale Smith at GSmith@HoustonMethodist.org or 832.667.5843. For more information on Houston Methodist, call 713.790.3333 or visit www.HoustonMethodist.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

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