Two TMC Institutions Team Up to Aid Patients Without Rehabilitation Resources

The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research and Memorial Hermann Hospital have worked together for years to provide care for people who do not have the resources to meet their medical and rehabilitation needs following catastrophic injury.

Due to the increasing need for these services, the administrators of both systems determined that it was essential to expand the services for non-resource patients at TIRR, in turn allowing the admission of additional patients to Memorial Hermann.

A partnership to provide care for patients without resources was formalized this spring, in a letter of agreement between the two facilities. The agreement was signed by Charles Beall, acting president of TIRR, and Juanita Romans, chief operating officer of Memorial Hermann.

Guy Clifton, M.D., director of TIRR’s Mission Connect program and Runnells Distinguished Chair and department of neurosurgery professor and chair at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, was a key supporter of this agreement.

“Dr. Clifton came to us last summer and hosted a meeting with both TIRR and Memorial Hermann,” said Beall. “He helped us focus on the community-wide problem and the effect it was having on both institutions and encouraged us to be creative in solving this challenge.”

TIRR has traditionally maintained two non-resource beds for patients referred by Memorial Hermann, and the case management and social work staff members of both facilities collaborate to manage the care, develop the discharge plan, and provide needed equipment. The new agreement provides TIRR with financial support from Memorial Hermann for the rehabilitation phase of care for additional patients beyond the two established beds.

In agreement with previously established guidelines, TIRR will continue to provide the same quality care in a cost effective manner, and staff at the two facilities will continue to work together to meet the discharge needs. Coordinated by Jean Herzog, TIRR’s brain injury and stroke program administrator, a subsequent meeting refined the details and demonstrated the institutions’ collaborative strengths.

“By TIRR agreeing to serve more non-resource patients, additional bed capacity in the trauma units at Memorial Hermann will be available to serve additional patients in our community who have suffered injuries or accidents. This is a significant benefit for patients in Houston and Texas that need the Level I trauma care that Memorial Hermann and TIRR are uniquely qualified to provide,” noted Beall.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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