UNPRECEDENTED. It was as if this was the word of the year in 2020, defined by the coronavirus pandemic and the horrific toll that COVID-19 took on all of us. It’s worth remembering, however, that Houston Methodist began more than 100 years ago amid another scourge. Just as our city — and the country — recovered from the deadly influenza outbreak, I am confident we will emerge from the current crisis. Despite the outbreak, 2020 was a year of celebration, as we surpassed our goal for the Leading Medicine to the Power of M: Campaign for Our Second Century, anchored by two transformational gifts: $21 million from the Jerold B. Katz Foundation, the largest gift to date to the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, and $101 million from Rusty and Paula Walter and the Walter Oil & Gas Corporation, the largest commitment in the history of Houston Methodist. We are reminded of the impact of these families — as well as the nearly 15,000 Campaign contributors — whenever a patient enters any one of our 316 front doors, or whenever a clinician or scientist makes a promising new discovery that makes life better for our patients — or benefits any patient around the world. Thanks, also, to the synergy among our researchers, physicians and front-line workers — due in large part to you, our generous benefactors — we had the systems in place to begin understanding the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as soon as cases of COVID-19 began showing up in the United States. Houston Methodist was the first hospital in the country to use convalescent plasma as a treatment for critically ill patients, and we were among the first to publish peer-reviewed studies sharing what we learned about the differences between the first and second surges. Your investments in our Infectious Diseases Research Fund created the foundation for our Center for Infectious Diseases, which is ramping up not only to fight COVID-19 on multiple fronts but also to prepare for future outbreaks of other viruses. As
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Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation
we fought back surge after surge of COVID-19, our staff felt supported by your outpouring of donated meals, heartfelt cards and social media posts, and gifts to the COVID-19 Front Line Heroes Appreciation Program. The pages that follow express our deepest gratitude for how strongly you have stood alongside us during this battle throughout this “year like no other.” As in-person meetings became impractical because we had to maintain social distancing, we turned to the DeBakey CV Education Studio to communicate with our friends, partners and stakeholders. Built in October 2019 thanks to the generosity of the DeBakey Medical Foundation, the studio’s primary purpose is for doctors in the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center to broadcast their vast knowledge to the world. During the pandemic, it is providing a welcome platform
