St. Luke’s Opens New International Service Center

In a continuing effort to serve a growing number of international patients, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital recently opened a new satellite center on the first floor of the St. Luke’s Medical Towers.

"Our primary goal of this expansion is to be more proximal to our patients and assist in meeting their needs for all hospital-related matters, as well as provide a nearby service location to our physicians and their offices," said Warren Whitehead, assistant vice president of international services.

The new center will offer a full array of patient services benefiting international patients, including accessing hotels, hospital registration, scheduling, finance, language interpretation and other identified patient needs, and supplements the services of the International Center located on the main hospital campus.

"The additional International Service Center in the Medical Towers is a great resource because of its convenience, warmth and welcoming environment," said Dr. Alan Hoffman, a St. Luke’s internal medicine physician. "The staff comforts patients who might otherwise find language or culture barriers to accessing services at St. Luke’s and the Texas Heart Institute. The visibility of the service center in the Medical Towers is a good reminder to our local patients and physicians alike that we are a facility that cares for patients from around the world."

The expansion of services in the Medical Towers is part of an overall St. Luke’s strategy to serve patients in the most efficient and convenient way possible, Whitehead said.

"This model will be incorporated into the St. Luke’s representative offices in select countries and will combine the latest technology such as video conferencing with high-speed internet connections. These new capabilities will enable our patients to access our services at a convenient location in their own city," he explained. "Creating a resource center in the patient’s home city will help us facilitate administrative and clinical matters, such as a medical second opinion, in a very customer-focused and cost-effective manner. These new offices will allow us to continue bringing the spirit of St. Luke’s service closer to our patients," he stated.

The International Service Center in the Medical Towers is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For additional information, contact St. Luke’s main International Center at (832) 355-3350.

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