NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2008
Contact:  Jessica Michan (832) 355-3791

HOUSTON – St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities announces a $50,000 contribution to begin a new scholarship program in collaboration with the Coleman College for Health Sciences at Houston Community College (HCC) and the Rotary Clubs of Houston. The funds will help create two to three scholarships for one year for medical assistant and health information technology students. The recipients will be employed by a local healthcare provider to enter backlogged immunization records for Houston-area children as well as help implement reminder/recall systems. The first local healthcare provider will be El Centro de Corazón Clinic.

"This scholarship program will help ensure children's immunization records are up-to-date, while at the same time giving HCC students an opportunity to help meliorate this public health need," said Patricia Gail Bray, PhD, executive director, St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities. "As an organization, we aim to support programs like this one that help identify and address the health needs of our community in creative ways."

Medical assistants and health information technology specialists are often the critical missing links in many settings that provide immunizations to children, often resulting in incomplete or no immunization records.

"HCC Coleman College is excited to have our medical assistant and health information technology students improving the health of our region's children by maintaining more accurate immunization records for them," said Marsal P. Stoll, EdD, president, HCC Coleman College for Health Sciences. "The funding from St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities will enable us to take a great first step this year together. We appreciate their generosity."

"Houston area Rotary Clubs are so pleased to play a role in this very worthwhile project that addresses a significant community health issue to educate and create awareness within the community about critical issues impacting immunization best practice", said Vicki Brentin, past president of the Rotary Club of Houston and Immunization Chair for Houston area Rotary Clubs in District 5890.

The chosen scholarship recipients will also work with El Centro de Corazón clinic to establish and implement a reminder/recall system for parents and guardians, which may improve the immunization rate in Houston.

"St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities recognizes the importance of collaboration with valued partners to best address community health needs," said The Rt. Rev. Dena A. Harrison, Bishop Suffragan for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and board chair for St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities.

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St. Luke's Episcopal Health System (www.stlukestexas.com) includes St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital; St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities, a charity devoted to assessing and enhancing community health, especially among the underserved; and KS Management Services, LLC, overseeing 18 area clinic locations. St. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital is under construction, scheduled to open in 2008, and St. Luke's Clear Lake Hospital is scheduled to open in 2010. Plans are underway for St. Luke's Lakeside Hospital in The Woodlands. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital is home to the Texas Heart® Institute, which was founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD, and is consistently ranked among the top 10 cardiology and heart surgery centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Affiliated with several nursing schools and two medical schools, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital was the first hospital in Texas named a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence, and twice has been honored with the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ by HealthGrades, a leading independent company that measures healthcare quality in hospitals. The Health System has been recognized by FORTUNE as among the "100 Best Companies to Work For" and by the Houston Business Journalas a top employer in Houston.

About Coleman College

The vision of HCC Coleman College for Health Sciences is to be the preeminent health sciences community college in the Nation preparing students for today's health science careers and a lifetime of learning. Founded in 2004, Coleman College confers associate degrees and certificates in 20 health science fields in a state-of-the-art academic environment.  A member institution of the Texas Medical Center, HCC Coleman College provides its students unsurpassed access to world-renowned health science resources and as a campus of the Houston Community College System, offers affordable, rewarding futures.