TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 19 a range of topics related to health care cost, access, quality and coverage. The report was so successful that the 2016 survey will be expanded to include 5,000 participants in California, New York, Ohio and Florida, as well as Texas. Based on last year's findings, the 2016 survey will look closely at quality of care, and what consumers see as most (or least) important relevant to health care quality. We look forward to the future of the Health Policy Institute, as it harnesses the collective expertise of this campus' health policy leaders to improve understanding and access across the country. We were proud to be a sponsor of the 2015 Medical World Americas Conference and Expo, aimed at bringing together health care leaders and practitioners from around the world for three days of presentations, panels and exhibits. Renowned inventor Dean Kamen has already been selected as the keynote speaker for the 2016 Medical World Americas, which promises to be even more impactful than the previous two. 2015 brought several major events to the TMCx space, including Houston 2035, a look at this city 20 years in the future. We also worked closely with students from the British International School of Houston for a daylong Young Inventors Forum, dedicated to innovation and teamwork. In addition to classroom visits from some of the TMCx mentors, the elementary school students were given the main stage in TMCx to present their inventions—the result of a semester-long focus on product development and pitching—to parents, teachers and visitors. We believe that Houston can be—and should be—a national leader and host city for medical events and conferences, and we continue to collaborate across institutions to attract qual- ity events. Events on the TMC campus, and in Houston as a whole, bring incredible talent and passion to this city. We are fortunate to experience that every day here in the Texas Medical Center, and even more fortunate to share that passion with visitors from around the world. Talented new hires are added daily across the medical center—from research and educa- tion, to clinical care and executive leadership. With new talent comes new opportunities to further our mission, and serve as a leader in human health. The physical landscape of our campus is also changing. Many major construc- tion projects are underway to help accommodate the tens of thousands of patients, students, staff and visitors who come to the Texas Medical Center each day. Memorial Hermann kicked off a $650 million renovation and expansion project, which will con- tinue through 2019, adding a patient care tower as well as parking and additional infrastructure to support future growth. Texas Children's Hospital has moved forward on its $506 million expansion project, which will include a renovation of the Emergency Center, the expansion of diagnostic and therapeutic services, and the addition of 19 floors to an existing building. The new tower will house the Texas Children's Heart Center, and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. Houston Methodist Hospital was another of our members to announce significant expan- sion for the coming years with a $540 million project scheduled to continue through 2017. The expansion will include a new patient tower that will house over 390 patient beds and a dedicated cardiology floor. Beyond the Texas Medical Center's Houston campus, the new Jennie Sealy Hospital at UTMB in Galveston will be operational in 2016, provid- ing access to quality health care in our surround- ing areas. On the academic side, Houston Community College made a big announcement about their plans for expansion. They are scheduled to complete the 248,000-square-foot Coleman Healthcare Educational Facility in 2017. We are also anticipating the completion of the new Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions campus in the fall of 2016. Education is central to the work being done within the medical center, as the students here represent the next generation of physicians, researchers and leaders for the Texas Medical Center. Plans are also moving forward for the TMC3 campus, as we continue to develop and foster rela- tionships that will serve as the foundation for the success of that campus expansion. Collaboration is always a core value of the Texas Medical Center, and we see that ringing true as we continue to expand and develop plans to further the reach of this campus on a national scale. All of these projects and events demonstrate our commitment, as well as the commitment of our members, to making the Texas Medical Center a global destination for research, educa- tion and patient care. We see leaders emerge each day from the halls of our member institutions, and this level of growth shows that there are even bigger things still to come as our campus rises to meet the nation's health care needs. In the pages that follow, you will hear from some of the leaders within the Texas Medical Center. Their institutions have reached incredible milestones and paved promising roads for 2016. We look forward to the continued opportunities for growth and collaboration, as we work together to improve human health, not only here in Texas, but around the world. We see leaders emerge each day from the halls of our member institutions, and this level of growth shows that there are even bigger things still to come as our campus rises to meet the nation's health care needs.

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