Methodist Healthcare Ministries is pleased to congratulate its partner Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) for being recognized as a 2017 World's Most Ethical Company® by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

HCA is one of only seven companies honored in the health care provider category this year. This marks the eighth consecutive year the award is granted to HCA – a leading health care provider with 171 hospitals and 118 freestanding surgery centers in 20 states and the United Kingdom. The award is designated for organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

Together, HCA and Methodist Healthcare Ministries equally own the Methodist Healthcare System, the largest faith-based health care provider in San Antonio and South Texas.

"Congratulations to our partner, HCA, for this prestigious recognition," said Kevin C. Moriarty, President/CEO for Methodist Healthcare Ministries. "This honor calls attention to HCA's continuous commitment to ethical business practices and the excellent care that is provided to our shared patients. Methodist Healthcare Ministries is proud to have a partner whose high ethical standards are aligned with our own principles and commitment to quality and excellence."

In 1955, the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church chartered the Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital; it opened in 1963. Its purpose was to deliver and promote improved health care as well as enhance access to health care, with concern to include those least served. From this charter and that first hospital, Methodist Healthcare System was formed in 1995 and today is the largest health care provider in San Antonio and 24 surrounding counties. Since 1995, in joint partnership with HCA, Methodist Healthcare Ministries has retained one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System and provides the local governance to ensure that the Methodist Healthcare System continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all and charitable care when needed.

To read the full release honoring HCA, click here. 

Campaign to support three Federally Qualified Health Centers in South Texas

San Antonio (April. 12, 2017) – Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. – a private, faith-based not-for-profit dedicated to creating access to health care for low-income families and the uninsured – announced its support of a new American Cancer Society campaign, "Cancer Prevention: It's worth a shot." Methodist Healthcare Ministries will donate $500,000 to the American Cancer Society for a comprehensive, two-year cancer prevention initiative focused on increasing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among medically underserved children in South Texas served by local and regional Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and to support a community-based HPV vaccination education campaign for parents and families.

"Methodist Healthcare Ministries is proud to support the American Cancer Society's HPV prevention campaign," stated Kevin C. Moriarty, president & CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. "At our clinics, we often see patients that are beyond the prevention stage of treatment. To be a part of such a pivotal campaign, a campaign using proven results, and knowing that through the campaign's partnerships low-income families will have access to the vaccine, is especially meaningful to us at Methodist Healthcare Ministries." As part of this effort, the American Cancer Society will partner with three Federally Qualified Health Centers (Amistad Community Health Center, Atascosa Health Center and CentroMed), all of which Methodist Healthcare Ministries has had a long-standing relationship.

The HPV vaccine has been proven safe and effective in the prevention of infection as well as cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers. The HPV vaccination rate goal of Healthy People 2020 (a national health promotion and disease prevention initiative) aims for vaccine coverage for boys and girls ages 13-15 to be 80%, receiving at least three doses of the HPV vaccine. Per the 2015 National Immunization Survey, the vaccine rates in San Antonio for girls ages 13 to 17 was 32.8 percent, and 19.9 percent for boys ages 13 to 17. Although preventive care like vaccinations is covered by Medicaid and many private insurance plans, thousands of children, especially in clinics that serve those in greatest need, go without vaccinations that could protect them.

"We are honored to lead this effort with the valuable support of Methodist Healthcare Ministries," said Suncerria Tillis, senior director of primary care systems at the American Cancer Society. "The American Cancer Society has made HPV vaccinations a top mission priority. Vaccinating children gives health care providers and parents the powerful opportunity to prevent HPV-related cancers in the future. The FQHC's we work with will be instrumental in this effort as well."

Based on an assessment of current practice, the American Cancer Society will work with each FQHC to build a customized program that will include provider education, patient outreach, education, and follow-up, as well as other quality improvement efforts. Each FQHC partner will receive capacity building funding to support their comprehensive program. The project aims to employ approaches to increase provider recommendation and vaccination coverage levels that will be sustained beyond the funding period.

View a previously recorded live-stream of the news announcement on Facebook.com/mhmstx. Follow the conversation using #mhmstx and #2shots2preventCancer.

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About Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. is a private, faith-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating access to health care for the uninsured through direct services, community partnerships and strategic grant-making in 74 counties across South Texas. The mission of the organization is "Serving Humanity to Honor God" by improving the physical, mental and spiritual health of those least served in the Rio Texas Conference area of The United Methodist Church. The mission also includes Methodist Healthcare Ministries' one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System, the largest healthcare system in South Texas, which creates a unique avenue to ensure that it continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all and charitable care when needed. For more information, visit mhmbridgeofblessings.org. 

About American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 2 million volunteers saving lives in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 23 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings and more. For more information, to get help or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at (800) 227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org. 

Methodist Healthcare Ministries' will relocate its primary care clinic to the former home of Southeast Baptist Hospital.

San Antonio (Jan. 12, 2017) – For 20 years, the Bishop Ernest T. Dixon, Jr. Clinic, owned and operated by Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., has served San Antonio's uninsured patients from the Eastside Medical Office Building on East Commerce Street. Methodist Healthcare Ministries is proud to announce it will relocate its Bishop Ernest T. Dixon, Jr. Clinic to a familiar address on the Southeast side of San Antonio. The property which once was home to Southeast Baptist Hospital was purchased Jan. 11 by Methodist Healthcare Ministries and will be the grounds for the expansion of its Dixon Clinic services when it relocates late 2017.

The Dixon Clinic is part of Methodist Healthcare Ministries' strategy for improving community health and is intended to stimulate additional investment in health care services on the Eastside. "We opened the Dixon Clinic with the vision that it would become a resource for uninsured and low-income families who had no other access to primary care or social services. Our goal then was to draw additional resources to what had been a dramatically underserved area. Today, in addition to operating the Dixon Clinic we continue to fund the Eastside through partners such as CommuniCare and CentroMed," explained Kevin C. Moriarty, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

In March 2015, Methodist Healthcare Ministries commissioned Capital Healthcare Planning, an independent consulting firm, to identify and determine high-level needs of at-risk populations across the greater San Antonio area (read report: Bexar County Uninsured Market Assessment: Primary Care). The objective was to understand the current provision of care to at-risk populations within Bexar County; identify major gaps in care that might suggest opportunity for Methodist Healthcare Ministries to provide additional resources; and to work with community leaders, partners and stakeholders to develop consensus around a model and plan for service delivery to address those gaps in care. "The data showed an emerging unmet need. It affirmed we still have work to do on the Southeast side and the Dixon Clinic was the answer just as it was 20 years ago," said Moriarty.

Southeast Baptist Hospital closed its doors in 2011. The current property grounds have two medical office buildings, as well as the once Southeast Baptist Hospital building, all of which sits on 20 acres of land. Dixon Clinic operations will relocate to one of the medical office buildings while the other is currently occupied by a group of private physicians. The hospital building will be demolished as additional plans for the site develop.

"We are thrilled to make this announcement as we celebrate the Dixon Clinic's 20th anniversary," said Moriarty. "Bishop Dixon, for whom the clinic is named after and who served in The United Methodist Church for many years, would have been so proud that a service that provides care to a community he loved, and which we have been honored to be a part of, will continue to serve so many."

For the latest updates on the Dixon Clinic relocation, please visit http://mhmbridgeofblessings.org/clinics/bishop-ernest-t-dixon-jr-clinic. 

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About Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. is a private, faith-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating access to health care for the uninsured through direct services, community partnerships and strategic grant-making in 74 counties across South Texas. The mission of the organization is "Serving Humanity to Honor God" by improving the physical, mental and spiritual health of those least served in the Rio Texas Conference area of The United Methodist Church. The mission also includes Methodist Healthcare Ministries' one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System, the largest healthcare system in South Texas, which creates a unique avenue to ensure that it continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all and charitable care when needed. For more information, visit mhmbridgeofblessings.org. 

For the fourth, consecutive year, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. partnered with Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children's Hospital to donate nearly 50 decorated, artificial Christmas trees to several underserved families in San Antonio.

"We are delighted to be able to provide our clients with some holiday cheer this season. Christmas is a time of compassion and giving, and that's what these trees symbolize. We are grateful for the generosity of Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children's Hospital, and the joy this donation will bring many families," expressed Oanh Maroney-Omitade, vice president of clinical operations at Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

As part of their holiday celebrations, several departments of Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children's Hospital participated in an annual Christmas tree decorating contest. Trees adorned with unique ornaments, some hand-crafted by employees, were put on display at both hospitals, transforming the facilities into winter wonderlands. Select trees also contained presents for an extra holiday surprise. The trees were then delivered to Wesley Health & Wellness Center where they were distributed to approximately 50 families who participate in Methodist Healthcare Ministries' programs and services.

"Getting a Christmas tree means a lot to me and to my children," said a Christmas tree recipient. "There wasn't going to be a Christmas tree at our home, but thanks to Methodist Healthcare Ministries, we had a happier Christmas. We were very surprised and grateful. It was truly a blessing."

In the spirit of Christmas, clients from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.'s knitting class donated more than 60 hats to residents at Haven for Hope, a private non-profit aimed at transforming the lives of men, women and children faced with homelessness in the San Antonio/Bexar County area. 

"We see health in terms of mind, body and spirit. In addition to the primary health care services offered at our Wesley Health & Wellness Center, we provide the community with a place to learn and grow through exercise classes and support groups. Our knitting classes are particularly popular for community members to make friends, and share struggles and successes while learning to knit and quilt," said Oanh Maroney-Omitade, vice president of community health programs at Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

The hats were hand-knit by nearly 30 class participants at Methodist Healthcare Ministries' Wesley Health & Wellness Center as a part of their recreation and enrichment program. This is the second year the donation has taken place. Each hat took about two hours to make and various sizes were made for men, women and children. The holiday donation will be distributed to Haven for Hope residents with the most critical need.

Significant health differences for Blacks and Hispanics in Texas lead to higher health care spending, lost work productivity and a dramatic number of years lost to premature death. That's just a few of the findings of a new study examining the economic burden associated with health disparities across the state. Episcopal Health Foundation and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. sponsored the report.

The report found people of color in Texas are less likely to say they're in good health, more likely to be uninsured, and have higher rates of diabetes and obesity. The report found these and other poor health outcomes cost families, employers, insurers and governments an estimated $1.7 billion in excess medical spending for hospital care, doctor services and prescription drugs. Researchers estimate health disparities cost Texans $2.9 billion in lost work productivity, primarily because of costs associated with more annual hours off work due to poorer health. The report also found poor health outcomes lead to a dramatic number of years lost to premature death – nearly 400,000 lost life years in Texas today, split evenly between Blacks and Hispanics. This loss of life represents an economic impact of nearly $20 billion, the report found.

Read the complete "Economic Impacts of Health Disparities in Texas" report

"The average Hispanic or Black child in Texas is much more likely to be born into a reinforcing cycle of poorer health, lower educational attainment and fewer job opportunities," said Elena Marks, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation which co-sponsored the report. "These preventable differences not only unnecessarily lead to more illness and disability for many Texans, but the entire state is paying a massive economic cost. And if nothing changes, those costs will rise dramatically."

The report found that the economic impact of health and socioeconomic differences are expected to increase as Texas' population grows and people of color become of larger share. Two-thirds of the 7 million children in Texas today are children of color, and half are Hispanic.

"Disparities in health status are already higher in Texas than in many states, and it's an issue that will increase in importance given the changing composition of the Texas population," said Ani Turner, co-author of the report and co-director of Altarum Institute's Center for Sustainable Health Spending.

Turner and other researchers estimate by 2050, the economic costs of health disparities in Texas are expected to increase by more than 80 percent to $3 billion in excess medical spending, $5.5 billion in lost productivity and 690,000 lost life years at a value of $35 billion.

"We can't sit by and allow the cycle of health differences to continue," said Kevin C. Moriarty, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. "Given the enormous economic burden of these health differences in Texas, we have to make the health of ALL communities and access to care for ALL a priority in our state."

Moriarty and Marks said expanding Medicaid would ensure that uninsured, low-income Texans would gain access to needed health insurance to access care, and ultimately have better health outcomes. The two philanthropic leaders believe the report should help guide elected officials, communities, and congregations in developing policy and budget priorities to reduce the human toll and rising costs of health disparities in Texas. The report was co-authored by Ani Turner and Erica Munoz-Rumsey of Altarum Institute, Thomas LaVeist of George Washington University, and Darrell Gaskin of Johns Hopkins University.

Methodist Healthcare Ministries has collaborated with Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology with operational headquarters in Minnesota, to demonstrate the Medtronic Turning Point program to Methodist Healthcare Ministries' medical patients.

Methodist Healthcare Ministries' patient base consists of individuals at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level who do not have access to health insurance. By design, the initial cohort of participants was selected by Methodist Healthcare Ministries' clinicians based on the challenges patients faced in reaching their diabetic management goals. An overall increased therapy demand and a shortage of providers required a more effective solution to address the growing need for high quality, lower cost diabetes care. The Medtronic Turning Point program offered a unique and unprecedented solution to meet these demands. The Medtronic Turning Point program utilizes a patient-facing mobile application serving as medication reminder and adviser in accordance with doctor instructions, in addition to tracking physical activity and nutrition. A remote health coach employed by Medtronic supervises the data and interacts with the patient. The program can report back to the patient's primary care physician at Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

Although the program is ongoing, positive results and feedback from both patient and physician have been realized, including a high patient retention rate and a noticeable reduction in HbA1C levels. As a cutting-edge solution to a long-standing and ever-increasing health care issue, Medtronic Turning Point program patient stories were displayed at the IBM World of Watson 2016, IBM's signature data and analytics conference, held Oct. 24-27 in Las Vegas.

"The Methodist Healthcare Ministries and Medtronic partnership through the Medtronic Turning Point program have been so valuable in testing a new approach to the long-standing issue of diabetes. Patients have reported the mobile app makes them feel like they have an added member of their health care team. The hands-on technology helps patients feel more connected and in charge of their diabetes management and goals. Our primary care physicians are kept well-informed of their patients' progress as part of their total health care plan. It's a win-win," explains Jennifer Knoulton, director of nursing and regional wellness programs at Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

Learn more about the patients participating in Turning Point:

Part 1 of 3: A chef takes a fresh approach to diabetes
Part 2 of 3: Interrupting the cycle of diabetes
Part 3 of 3: 'Leveling up' to combat diabetes