Menninger Clinic Opens its Doors to Houston

The Menninger Clinic, a world-renowned name in mental health care, opened its new psychiatric treatment center June 3 in Houston in affiliation with The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

The tree-shaded campus in north-central Houston formerly housed Spring Shadows Glen Hospital. At a May 7 open house, the newly refurbished facilities, including three buildings for housing patients, four school classrooms, a library, and a swimming pool, were unveiled.

“I am confident that this alliance will lead to unprecedented mental health treatment for everyone, not just in Houston,” said Ron Girotto, Methodist president and CEO. “Our new team will provide the best research and treatment programs, with each group making unique contributions to this cooperative opportunity.”

“Together, Menninger, Baylor and Methodist share a vision to bring more options and hope to those who suffer from the often debilitating and misunderstood illnesses of the mind,” said Peter Traber, M.D., Baylor president and CEO.

The open house activities included a tree planting and a dedication by W. Walter Menninger, M.D., past president and CEO of the Menninger Clinic and the third generation of the founding family.

“As part of this affiliation, Menninger will continue to fulfill its mission and provide effective, humane care of individuals with mental illness,” said Menninger.

When Menninger was founded in 1925, C.F. Menninger, M.D., and his sons Karl and Will Menninger, both M.D.s, envisioned the institution would contribute “a better kind of medicine for a better kind of world.” To illustrate the challenge of that mission, the open house exhibited artifacts used in 19th and 20th century sanitariums, including an electroshock therapy machine and a faded straitjacket.

Each artifact tells a story of how far psychiatric treatment has come, and how Menninger was created to offer hope and humane treatment for patients, as well as its role in reforming state hospitals for people with mental illness.

Last December, Menninger announced that its directors and trustees approved an affiliation with Baylor and Methodist to create a comprehensive center for psychiatric care, research and education in Houston.

The Menninger Clinic is known for offering comprehensive programs for treatment of addictive disorders, depression, alcoholism and eating disorders. The Houston clinic will continue to offer these programs for adults and adolescents; patient stays range from three to 16 weeks, depending on a patient’s age and treatment needs.

Ian Aitken, Menninger’s president and CEO, said as many as 80 individuals from Menninger’s campus in Topeka, Kan., have relocated and are working at the new Houston hospital.

Among the clinical staff members making the move include six psychiatrists, seven psychologists and 36 members of additional teams. More than 165 clinical and non-clinical staff are being hired locally.

“These people are the heart of the values of this organization,” he said. “We are not going to show up in name only.”

Aitken added that between 20 and 40 patients also moved from Kansas to the new Houston hospital. They were flown from Topeka May 31.

Aitken said the facility, located at 2801 Gessner, will be temporary; eventually Menninger would like to move to the Texas Medical Center’s main campus.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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