1959 to 2009: TIRR Celebrates 50 Years of Transforming Lives Interrupted by Disability
TIRR Memorial Hermann opened its doors in 1959 as one of the country's first rehabilitation hospitals and one of the first hospitals in the world-renowned Texas Medical Center. From humble beginnings as the Southwestern Poliomyelitis Respiratory Center, TIRR has grown to a 116-bed hospital regarded as a national leader in medical rehabilitation and research. As a teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, TIRR offers patients leading-edge therapies and treatments based on ongoing research.
TIRR's roots go back to the Southwestern Poliomyelitis Respiratory Center, founded in 1951 as part of Jefferson Davis Hospital, a former teaching facility for Baylor College of Medicine.
Over the years, TIRR expanded their commitment to educating patients, families, healthcare professionals, caregivers and the general public about rehabilitation. Today, extending knowledge and resources into the community through programs like Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) and the Disability and Business Technical Center (DBTAC): Southwest ADA Center remains a top priority and part of their pledge to make a difference in the lives of people recovering from disabling injury and illness.
"Man uses the tiniest strengths for the greatest purposes."
These are the words of TIRR Memorial Hermann founding physician William Spencer, M.D., and they embody the spirit of the rehabilitation hospital's employees and physicians as they work daily to change lives by improving outcomes, offering hope and maximizing independence for people affected by disabling injury or illness. As a reminder, that simple sentence is inscribed at the base of the uplifting statue, Prometheus Unbound, that stands at TIRR's entrance.
In 1951, Dr. Spencer, a young pediatric physician just out of the United States Army, was recruited by Baylor College of Medicine and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to lead a staff of clinicians at the Southwestern Poliomyelitis Respiratory Center. As the polio epidemic swept the nation, patients from across America were sent to the center, housed in an annex of Harris County's former Jefferson Davis Hospital, the teaching hospital for Baylor. At one time, the center managed more than 10 percent of the 38,000 new cases of polio that occurred annually.
When the polio vaccine all but eradicated the disease, Dr. Spencer refocused the core clinical knowledge developed from the rehabilitation of patients with polio on the care of patients with catastrophic injuries and illnesses. Then, in 1957, the Texas Medical Center deeded free of cost a 5.5-acre tract of land to the Texas Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR). Two years later, with financial help from the M. D. Anderson Foundation, TIRR opened its doors.
Emergency transfers from hospitals were a daily occurrence. The Houston center dealt with more than 10 percent of the nation's patients diagnosed with poliomyelitis.
"Two things brought me back to Houston after I finished my fellowship at the University of Michigan. One was the many good relationships that I had developed, with my chairman, other faculty and physician mentors and also with the nurses, therapists and other staff members at TIRR. The staff made it a really attractive place to practice. The second reason I came back was the type of patients we treat t TIRR and other associated hospitals. I don't think I would have had the opportunity to work with such a variety of patients at other institutions. The reason we have the patients we have is the reputation for quality and service provided at this institution. That depth and breadth of patient experience and the training I received from internationally known physiatrists has been a huge asset to my career."
Benoy Benny, M.D.
Director of the Spine, Sports and Pain Program, PM&R
Director
of the Pain Fellowship Program
Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Baylor College of Medicine
In 1957, the Texas Medical Center donated 5.5 acres of land to TIRR. Two years later, with financial help from the M. D. Anderson Foundation, TIRR opened its doors.
By 1960, innovative treatments were being created and put to use at TIRR. Chief of Surgery Paul E. Harrington, M.D., developed the Harrington surgical procedure for stabilization of the scoliotic spine, and the Harrington rod, still in use today, was recognized in Time magazine as breakthrough technology.
In 1960, Paul E. Harrington, chief of surgery at TIRR, developed the Harrington surgical procedure for stabilization of the scoliotic spine. Time magazine recognized the Harrington rod as breakthrough technology.
Two years later, TIRR established the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Program, now world-renowned especially in the care of ventilator-dependent patients. That same year, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare designated TIRR a National Rehabilitation Research Training Center.
Baylor College of Medicine physician Ed Carter established TIRR's Spinal Cord Injury Program in 1962. Today, the program is world renowned, particularly in the care of ventilator-dependent patients.
In 1970, the Spinal Cord Injury Program collaborated with the Yale University developer of the phrenic pacemaker on the world's second surgical implant of the device, which allowed individuals with quadriplegia to breathe without a ventilator. The SCI program was named a Model Spinal Injury Treatment System in 1972 by the forerunner of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, a designation the program holds today.
Kathleen DeSilva is the longest living survivor of a C1-2 spinal cord injury. Injured at age 16 in a gymnastics accident, she was the second patient, and first at TIRR, to receive a phrenic pacemaker. Today Kathleen is 57. She retired in 2004 as TIRR's legal counsel.
TIRR's reputation and expertise grew through the 1970s. Staff members developed the nation's first independent living program for people with disabilities. Five years later, the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) program was officially established as a national training and research center. In 1978, TIRR changed its name to The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research to emphasize its national and international service.
In 1984, recognizing that the dramatic therapies and treatments developed in the rehabilitation of patients with SCI could be used to help patients with brain injuries, TIRR established its Brain Injury Program. Three years later, it became the first hospital in the nation to house Model Systems for both brain and spinal cord injuries.
When U.S. News & World Report announced its first America's Best Hospitals list in 1990, TIRR was named to this nationwide survey of physicians and has been on the list ever since. That same year, the Engen modular knee-ankle-foot orthosis, developed at TIRR, was awarded the first Brian Blatchford Prize at the 6th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics. TIRR also began its innovative Challenge Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann Kirby Glen in 1990, in keeping with the hospital's philosophy of community-based service programming.
"At TIRR we were always striving to learn more and do better because that was the example the medical staff set. Dr. Bill Donovan was one of the best role models you could have. He taught us that no detail is too small because you're caring for a person, not just a disorder. I can remember rounds with Dr. Donovan. He'd pull out a patient's drug sheet and review every single medication and ask the residents why that patient needed to be on that particular medication. He would examine every X-ray in detail, and it taught you that you should do the same for your patients. TIRR was always on the cutting edge of care. We had specialized clinics for various diagnoses including brachial plexus, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries and upper-extremity amputations — so we had in-depth exposure to patients with a variety of injuries. Everyone really cared. There's a big difference between doing it because it's your job and doing it because you want to. TIRR was always the beacon, the shining star. They planted a lot of seeds that have grown into good practitioners and good programs. I'm glad I trained there."
Gregory Worsowicz, M.D.
Chairman, Department of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation
Associate Professor of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation
Medical Director, Rusk
Rehabilitation Center
University of Missouri-Columbia
Two years after President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990, the ILRU established the Southwest ADA Center, one of 10 Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to help ensure voluntary compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Today, the center handles more than 10,000 inquiries annually from physicians, employers and others with an interest in learning more about the ADA.
In 1992, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston established a department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. TIRR affiliated with the UT Medical School that same year, continuing its affiliation with Baylor College of Medicine. In 1996, the two medical schools formed the Baylor/UT Alliance for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation to provide medical students and patients access to the resources of the two institutions.
In February 2006, TIRR joined the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, offering the rehabilitation hospital all the benefits that come with affiliation with a larger organization, including support to develop new programs and services. Today, TIRR Memorial Hermann continues its commitment to provide the finest rehabilitative care, a proud legacy of the vision inspired by Dr. Spencer.
"The purpose of rehabilitation is to protect the individuality of the person facing disability and to provide opportunities to pursue goals, expectations and dreams that are important to that individual," Dr. Spencer wrote. "That's what makes you a person. Having some control over your existence is a basic human right. My vision is guided by how much people can do in spite of tremendous losses." That vision continues today.
In our new partnership with Memorial Hermann, TIRR continues its commitment to transforming lives interrupted by disability, a proud legacy of Dr. Spencer's vision.
The content for this page came from the Winter 2009 Edition of Breakthroughs in Rehabilitation published by TIRR Memorial Hermann.
