The refurbished basketball courts, one inside and one outside, will provide this northeast Houston community with a quality place for kids and adults to get active and engage with one another through basketball, exercise classes, children’s activities, and more. This work closely aligns with Memorial Hermann’s mission to improve the health and well-being of all Houstonians, and is part of the system’s vision to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come.
To advance this vision, Memorial Hermann’s Community Benefit Corporation (CBC) collaborates with other healthcare providers, government agencies, business leaders and community stakeholders, like the Houston Rockets and the City of Houston, on initiatives designed to improve the overall quality of life in our communities. For the past five years, the CBC has been working in the Moody Park community to help address underlying barriers to health and well-being. The refurbishment of these two basketball courts is an extension of that work.
The CBC was founded upon four pillars — one being “Exercise is Medicine”— which builds upon the belief that individuals can help manage their own health and wellness through increased physical activity. In addition to combating chronic diseases and health complications, regular exercise also leads to increased emotional wellbeing.
“We believe that when families have access to safe parks with strong infrastructure and programming, they have the chance to be a part of an engaged, active, thriving – and ultimately, healthier – community,” said Carol Paret, Senior Vice President and Chief Community Health Officer for Memorial Hermann. “During conversations with key stakeholders and residents in these communities, they have told us this is what they want. People want to exercise, but they need safe, stable places to do it. We are committed to listening to what communities across Greater Houston are telling us, then working – sometimes together with the city or other community partners – to help achieve the goals they have for their own neighborhoods.”
As a system, Memorial Hermann already contributes hundreds of millions of dollars annually through supporting the uninsured and underinsured, school-based health centers, neighborhood health centers, community resource centers, park revitalization projects, mental health crisis clinics and more. And just last fall, Memorial Hermann expanded its commitment and efforts to support some of the area’s most vulnerable communities through a multi-million dollar investment focused on housing instability, food insecurity, transportation, access to health care, income, and employment in neighborhoods in Southwest Houston and Greater Heights by joining the Healthcare Anchor Network. Looking forward, Memorial Hermann is actively pursuing opportunities to continue investing in similar efforts.
“Our hope is that these basketball courts and this public park will be a welcomed space for he residents of this neighborhood to walk and play and interact with each other,” Paret said. “All of which ultimately leads to better health.”