Message From the Chief Medical Officer

Patients at TIRR Memorial Hermann are living examples of resilience, the theme of this issue of the TIRR Journal.

Certainly, our patients learn a lot from the providers on their care team—from treatments to ways to manage day-to-day life with a disability

However, it truly is a two-way street. The staff here at TIRR Memorial Hermann learn about resilience from our patients and their caregivers each and every day. When we see our patients believe that no challenge is insurmountable, it motivates us even more to develop new treatment approaches and management techniques, with the goal of improving their care and quality of life.

When someone is affected by a brain injury, for example, they and their caregivers need to adapt. Similarly, as providers, we often need to adapt as well: Not everything we do is going to work for patients; we may have to try multiple approaches to find what works.

Rehabilitation medicine is not as proscriptive as other specialties: In order to do our jobs well, providers in this field need to constantly ask themselves, “What is the experience of my patients and their caregivers? How can we ensure that what I do will influence them in a positive way?”

We also need to listen to our patients and their caregivers, to develop treatments that work best for their individual needs.

Our ability to do that—to respond to our patients’ needs and find optimal solutions for them—is what sets TIRR Memorial Hermann apart from other rehabilitation medicine facilities.

It is also why TIRR Memorial Hermann was recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 2 rehabilitation hospital in the country.

We’re proud of that achievement, but we don’t plan to rest on our laurels. We will continue to strive to offer the best care anywhere.

Our patients are always doing the best they can. So should we.

Gerard E. Francisco, MD
Chief Medical Officer
TIRR Memorial Hermann
Professor and Wulfe Family Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth