In this section:

Leadership and Collaboration

As a faith-based nonprofit, it is crucial that we responsibly manage our financial and community resources to fulfill our Mission. To thrive, Texas Health must connect and build strong relationships with many stakeholders who affect how we deliver care — from physicians to public health agencies to policymakers, industry associations and health-related nonprofits.

We improve our understanding of trends affecting health outcomes, service delivery results and care costs through ongoing dialogue. Texas Health actively participates in more than 25 local, state and national healthcare industry associations, including the American Hospital Association, Healthcare Leadership Council, Texas Hospital Association, Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health and the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council. We are also actively involved with regional chambers of commerce, diversity councils and healthcare collaborations throughout North Texas.

"Texas Health values the opportunity to align its Mission, Vision and Values to support positive, constructive community engagement,” said David Tesmer, Chief Community and Public Policy Officer at Texas Health. “As a nonprofit organization and community servant, we spread support throughout our service area by actively engaging and building strong relationships with key business, industry and community stakeholders who impact the communities we serve."

Community Investments and Strategic Giving

Texas Health values the opportunity to align its Mission, Vision and Values to support positive, constructive community engagement. As a nonprofit organization and community servant, we spread support throughout our service area by actively engaging and building strong relationships with key business, industry and community stakeholders who impact the communities we serve.

Through Texas Health’s Community Giving Program, we provide financial support to more than 200 nonprofit organizations and associations. In the last five years alone, we have contributed nearly $10 million through sponsorships and charitable donations. Through strategic giving, we give priority consideration to programs and events that: 

• Aim to improve access to healthcare services.
• Advance medical or healthcare knowledge.
• Enhance the health and well-being of the communities we serve.

Additionally, Texas Health invests in North Texas communities to reinforce our commitment to well-being in the form of sponsorships. While the pandemic restricted our ability to host or sponsor in-person events, we found creative and meaningful ways to continue delivering support.

2021 Highlights

• Recognized by PEOPLE magazine and Great Place to Work® on their 2021 Companies That Care® list.
• Provided more than $2.8 million in community support through sponsorships and charitable contributions.

Snapshot: Sponsorship Reinforces Healthy Behaviors

Texas Health is committed to promoting healthy living practices to the communities we serve by inspiring better health and well-being. As a founding sponsor of Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, we helped to create the Cowtown Fresh Fare by Texas Health concession stand, which is available during concerts, rodeos and sporting events. The concession offers healthy alternatives to traditional concession fare to thousands of event attendees. We reinforce healthy living behaviors through videos, social media and other channels.

Employee Volunteerism

We encourage employees to be actively involved in North Texas communities by helping them contribute their time, talents and expertise to nonprofit organizations that align with our Mission, Vision and Values.

Our Community Time Off (CTO) program compensates every employee for one day of service each year to support local nonprofits across our 16-county service area. We serve our communities in diverse ways, from offering free health screenings and vaccinations to transforming underserved neighborhoods by building homes and planting trees. Due to the pandemic, the CTO program was restricted to virtual and clinical in-person projects only to protect our employees' safety.

2021 Highlights

• Logged more than 2,100 community service hours through virtual and clinical service projects as part of the CTO program. Since 2009, Texas Health employees have contributed 146,422 CTO hours and provided the equivalent of $2.2 million in service to our communities through this program.

Snapshot: Providing Food and Connection

Since the system's inception, Texas Health's employees have generously given their time and talents to support community needs. When food insecurity, isolation, and depression worsened during the pandemic, their outreach became more important, especially in rural communities.

Several employees from Texas Health Neighborhood Care & Wellness' Burleson and Willow Park clinics joined other volunteers to deliver 1,000 meals to residents in nearby communities through Meals on Wheels.

"For some of these clients, this is the only contact they have with another human being, so it is essential to connect with them," said Blake Windham, administrator. "We also check to see if they need anything."

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As a community leader, Texas Health plays a vital role in elevating discussions of diversity, equity and inclusion within and outside of our walls. In 2021, we launched a new community engagement strategy to reinforce our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and to help Texas Health develop a workforce and leadership pipeline that reflects the demographics of the communities we serve.

We aim to advance Texas Health's diversity, equity and inclusion priorities by collaborating with various stakeholders and experts to cultivate an inclusive work environment, promote civic and community engagement, and create positive change. Key initiatives include:

Readying Inspiring leaders with Skills to promote Equity (R.I.S.E.)

To develop a leadership pipeline that reflects the demographics of the communities we serve, we are piloting a program with 25 aspiring leaders to strengthen their leadership development and civic learning skills. Through Texas Health R.I.S.E., participants:

• Learn about critical healthcare issues and social responsibilities that are important to achieving Texas Health's long-term sustainability, Mission and Vision.
• Connect with a diverse group of leaders and highly motivated individuals to promote conversational learning, share resources and collaborate on meeting key business and community objectives across channels, functions and business units.
• Create positive change and applying new skill sets, knowledge and resources to their respective roles, workplaces and community.
• Examine strategic business issues such as consumer data and insights, product development and innovation, and racial equity and healthcare disparities.
• Build a think-tank of individuals to spark innovation, drive best practices, develop strategies and implement solutions.
• Promote and elevate diverse voices to sustain an inclusive, empowered and engaged workforce.

STEM Healthcare Initiative

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 77% of U.S. jobs will require technology skills and 60% of Texans ages 25 to 34 years old will need a post-secondary credential to be gainfully employed by 2030. Research by the Communities Foundation of Texas found that of the 5.5 million students enrolled in public education in the state, 60% are economically disadvantaged and do not have exposure to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum or understand its impact on their career path.

Texas Health piloted an initiative with the Dallas Independent School District's (DISD) Pathways to Technology and Early College (P-TECH) program to provide students with the skills to meet current and future workforce demands. P-TECH is a national public-private collaboration that blends classroom learning with workplace experiences to allow students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree in a specific discipline, such as healthcare. Thousands of students across the district participate in various P-TECH programs based on their interests.

Teams from Texas Health and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are currently engaging students at Dr. Emmett J. Conrad High School near the hospital, located in a Dallas neighborhood known for its large immigrant and refugee population.

2021 Highlights

• Selected a diverse group of 25 aspiring leaders out of 150 employee applications to participate in the inaugural Texas Health R.I.S.E. Leadership Cohort. Launched in January 2022, the four-month leadership training program focuses on important diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and provides professional development opportunities.
• Launched the "Texas Health Find Your Path" allied health video series to more than 150 Conrad High School healthcare science students.

Snapshot: Understanding Unconscious Bias in Healthcare

After being postponed due to the ongoing pandemic and surge in hospitalizations, the Texas Health R.I.S.E. leadership cohort gathered virtually in 2021 to learn more about the impact of unconscious bias in the healthcare setting from one of the industry's leading diversity, equity and inclusion experts.

Gloria Goins, former chief diversity and inclusion officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health System — the nation's fifth-largest Catholic healthcare system — delivered a presentation called "When Good Isn't Good Enough: How Unconscious Bias Harms Patients Despite Our Good Intentions." The presentation introduced cohort participants to topics and leadership conversations to be covered in the 2022 R.I.S.E. program.

Between January and May, the inaugural class of up-and-coming Texas Health leaders met for eight sessions, completed a community service project and engaged in various conversational learning opportunities. Participants heard from business and industry partners, regional chambers of commerce, and academic and nonprofit organizations that specialize in diversity, equity and inclusion and leadership development on such topics as:

• The importance of belonging in the workplace
• Consumer-focused innovation and culturally competent care
• Racial equity and health disparities
• Diversity, equity and inclusion in North Texas
• Civic engagement and public policy

Felicia Williams, program director, Community Affairs, said the name R.I.S.E. was inspired by a Martin Luther King, Jr. speech: "Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation."

Snapshot: Introducing Career Paths to Promising Young Healthcare Workers

To give more than 150 healthcare science students at Dr. Emmett J. Conrad High School an inside look at health careers, we developed the "Texas Health Find Your Path" video series. The video series and online lesson plan featured Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas' president, chief nursing officer, and allied health employees working in the roles of patient care technician, clinical laboratory assistant and certified surgical technician.

"As a program partner, this is an exciting opportunity to build an in-depth collaboration with a public school that benefits the community and helps us," said Jim Parobek, the hospital's president. "We get to be part of contributing to the lives of these students while growing our future workforce. We want them to explore careers in healthcare, which has so much to offer in clinical and non-clinical roles."

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas donated medical equipment to use in a student-led simulation health clinic to provide hands-on learning and practical experience. We also provide students with mentoring, professional career development, job skill mapping, virtual programs and workplace learning opportunities.

In 2022, we are developing and launching an in-person group mentoring program for allied health professions utilizing Texas Health's Community Time Off program. We also will recruit Conrad students to participate in our new Patient Care Technician Apprenticeship Program.

Charity Care and Community Benefit

As a nonprofit health system, Texas Health provides at least 5% of net patient revenue back to the community in the form of charity care and community benefit to:

• Care for and treat uninsured and underinsured patients.
• Absorb medical costs not reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid.
• Invest in community health initiatives through community benefit grants and sponsorships.
• Finance community health programs.
• Volunteer our employees' time and resources to support important health-related causes.

2021 Highlights