The Methodist Hospital System. Leading Medicine

Community Benefits



At The Methodist Hospital System in Houston, caring for our community means more than providing quality health care through our four hospitals-it means supporting individuals and organizations to touch the lives of our neighbors.

The Methodist Hospital System had its beginnings in the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 when the city of Houston simply ran out of beds for those suffering. Some even died on the streets. So the Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church purchased a small hospital near downtown Houston.

That was the beginning of The Methodist Hospital, now one of the nation's largest private, non-profit general hospitals. In the more than 85 years since its founding, Methodist has taken seriously its status as a faith-based organization founded by a denomination committed to providing quality, cost-effective health care to the communities in which it's based.

In 2007, The Methodist Hospital System provided more than $2.5 million in agency funding and contributed $1.6 million to in-kind services that include labs, immunizations and diagnostic tests. Hundreds of patients benefited from treatments at Methodist last year, totaling more than $50 million. Total charity care and community benefits contributions in 2007 totaled nearly $400 million.

All of our community benefits initiatives spring from the ICARE values championed by Methodist employees, from support staff and nurses to physicians and executives. ICARE stands for integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence.