TIRR Memorial Hermann


TIRR Memorial Hermann is a 134-bed rehabilitation hospital, rehabilitation and research center, outpatient medical clinic and network of outpatient rehabilitation centers in Houston, Texas that offers physical rehabilitation to patients following traumatic brain or spinal injury or to those suffering from neurologic illnesses. In 2014, U.S. News & World Report named TIRR Memorial Hermann to the list of America’s Best Hospitals for the 25th consecutive time.
TIRR Memorial Hermann's main campus offers inpatient rehabilitation in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. There are 5 outpatient rehabilitation locations in the greater Houston area, including Kirby Glen, Memorial City, Greater Heights, Sugar Land, and The Woodlands.
TIRR Memorial Hermann is a teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

History

TIRR Memorial Hermann traces its roots back to the early 1950s when polio was at the height of its epidemic in the United States. At the beginning of that decade, William A. Spencer, M.D., established one of the first polio treatment centers in the nation in Houston. The Southwestern Poliomyelitis Respiratory Center was dedicated to patient treatment and research and performed groundbreaking work.
Dr. Spencer was notably involved in developing the physiograph, a device recognized in the March 22, 1954 issue of Life magazine for its ability to record vital functions. This technology advanced teaching and research efforts and is credited as an early example of the sophisticated monitoring systems we use today.
In 1959, TIRR, opened its doors in the Texas Medical Center. With the discovery of the polio vaccine in the 1960s, the disease became less of a threat. The hospital then began focusing on the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord deterioration caused by disease or trauma, pioneering the interdisciplinary team approach to rehabilitation.
It was also in the 1960s that Dr. William Spencer recruited a number of visionary physicians from several different disciplines who had appointments in numerous academic departments, but spent significant amounts of their clinical and research time at the relatively small building at the rear of the then rapidly enlarging and expanding Texas Medical Center. Dr. Gunyon Harrison, a pediatrician with an interest in cystic fibrosis almost single handedly cared for the children in Greater Houston area with this disease. Dr. Carlos Vallbona, also a pediatrician, a physiologist, a cardiologist from Barcelona Spain had appointments in numerous departments at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Paul Harrington, an orthopedic surgeon, with interest in scoliosis, developed a new approach to this disease using what became known as "Harrington Rods", inserted from the back and straightening the backs of these deformed children. A young ENT specialist, Dr. Bobby Alford was still in his residency, and was to achieve broad fame at Baylor College of Medicine, performed almost all of the bronchoscopies needed for the polio and cystic fibrosis patients.

Awards and rankings

U.S. News & World Report
TIRR Memorial Hermann has appeared on the list of America's best rehabilitation hospitals published by U.S. News & World Report magazine since the survey’s inception in 1990.
Joint Commission & Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
TIRR Memorial Hermann has earned its Acute Care accreditation through the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
In addition, TIRR Memorial Hermann has also been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, which signals TIRR MH’s commitment to continually improving services, encouraging feedback, and serving the community.
American Nurses Credentialing Center
In 2013, TIRR Memorial Hermann was recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with the Pathway to Excellence designation. In 2015, TIRR Memorial Hermann was re-designated. This attests to the RN’s staff commitment to excellence and personal goal achievement.
Neurological Sleep Medicine Center
TIRR Memorial Hermann Neurological Sleep Medicine Center received program accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Academic affiliations

TIRR Memorial Hermann is home to the Baylor College of Medicine/University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Alliance. Formed in 1996, The BCM/UTHSC-H PM&R Alliance provides the largest physical medicine and rehabilitation residency training program in the nation. The Alliance works at all of the nine major health care institutions in the Texas Medical Center,

Research programs

The TIRR Memorial Hermann Research Center is a state-of-the-art facility that provides researchers with the tools to pioneer new advances in rehabilitative medicine that can lead to improvements in patient lives. Having a single facility where researchers can work on various research projects promotes tremendous synergy between researchers, disciplines and programs. It creates an integrated campus where all critical components of care and services come together for the benefit of the patients.
Brain Injury Research Center
The Brain Injury Research Center brings together world-renowned investigators to study the complicated facets of recovery from brain injury. BIRC has leveraged resources from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and the National Institutes of Health to conduct research that predicts participation outcomes after traumatic brain injury and leads to interventions that improve these outcomes.
The Brain Injury and Stroke Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann has been designated a Traumatic Brain Injury Model System for nearly three decades, and was funded as a Rehabilitation and Research Training Center of excellence in TBI for over 20 years.
Spinal Cord Injury and Disability Research Center
The mission of the Spinal Cord Injury and Disability Research Center is to improve functional recovery, health and quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury and other physical disabilities. SCIDR had been conducting research on SCI long before 1972, when it became among the first inpatient rehabilitation programs to be designated as a Model System of Care by the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research. SCIDR was the first to conduct 40-year follow-up interviews on those early research participants, and SCIDR continues to follow study participants over time at five-year intervals.
NeuroRecovery Research Center
The NeuroRecovery Research Center forms the umbrella for seven independent laboratories at TIRR Memorial Hermann that collaborate on basic science studies and clinical trials. Research under way at the NRRC is supported by the National Institutes of Health; Memorial Hermann Foundation; Mission Connect, a project of TIRR Foundation; TIRR Memorial Hermann; and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.
Independent Living Research Utilization
Established in 1977, the Independent Living Research Utilization provides comprehensive resources necessary to achieve an advanced level of independence once a rehabilitation patient is discharged from care. The ILRU program at TIRR Memorial Hermann is a community-focused model led by Lex Frieden, regarded worldwide as one of the leading experts in disability policy, the current chairperson of the board of the National Council on Disability and president of Rehabilitation International.
ILRU serves as a comprehensive information resource on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Housed at ILRU, the ADA Resource Center provides training, technical assistance and informational resources to employers, consumers, architects, businesses, media and disability organizations. ILRU is funded through private foundation grants and grants from numerous public agencies, including the United States Department of Education, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Department of Labor.

Notable physicians and professionals