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Kelsey-Seybold Celebrates 60 Years of Caring for Houstonians
Houston (March 30, 2009)—Kelsey-Seybold Clinic launched its year-long 60th anniversary commemoration on March 30 with a National Doctors' Day event honoring the more than 320 physicians who provide collaborative, coordinated care to patients throughout the greater Houston area.
Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey founded what is now Houston's premier community-based physician group on March 15, 1949, when he opened his first office in the burgeoning Texas Medical Center. The grandson of a country doctor who made house calls via horse and buggy, Dr. Kelsey spent his formative years in medicine as a World War II flight surgeon and at Bellevue Hospital in New York, Scott & White in Central Texas, and the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He returned to Texas in 1949 intent on building a multispecialty clinic in Houston.
The 96-year-old Dr. Kelsey was among the current and former physicians, staff, and patients who attended the Doctors' Day event at Kelsey-Seybold's Main Campus, 2727 West Holcombe.
"Dr. Kelsey built on what he learned at the innovative institutions where he worked as a young physician to pioneer the multispecialty group practice model in Houston," said Dr. Spencer Berthelsen, chairman of the Board of Directors at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. "That vision remains the driving force behind Kelsey-Seybold today."
The March 30 event launched a series of activities through which Kelsey-Seybold will celebrate its 60th anniversary and to say "thank you" to its 400,000 loyal patients: Kelsey-Seybold recognized the first baby delivered by a Kelsey-Seybold physician on March 15. Ariana Williams was delivered at 7:22 a.m. by Dr. Joseph A. Salinas of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic—Woman's Center. Ariana was born to LaNeice Williams at The Woman's Hospital of Texas. The Clinic will unveil a new multimedia micro-Web site that describes many memorable moments in the clinic's history and provides details about a 60th Anniversary Essay Contest. The grand prize is an iPod and three $60 gift cards. Kelsey-Seybold will also sponsor a children's art contest commemorating the 60th anniversary.
"We are very grateful to all of the physicians, employees, and patients who have made our first 60 years a success, and we look forward to the next 60," Dr. Berthelsen said. "Going forward, Kelsey-Seybold's core principles provide a model for the future of health care. America's Health Insurance Plans says the keys to controlling cost and improving health care quality are emphasizing preventive care, improving continuity and quality, and providing medical homes for the chronically ill. This describes what Kelsey-Seybold does everyday."
About Kelsey-Seybold
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is Houston's premier multispecialty group practice, founded in 1949 by Dr. Mavis Kelsey in Houston's renowned Texas Medical Center. More than 850 physicians and allied health professionals practice at 40 locations in the Greater Houston area. Kelsey-Seybold offers quality medical care in 65+ medical specialties. The organization operates the largest freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center in the state of Texas and offers state-of-the-art Varian TrueBeam and Varian Edge radiation therapy technology at a nationally accredited Cancer Center. An accredited Sleep Center, comprehensive laboratory services, advanced imaging and diagnostics, 24 onsite Kelsey pharmacies and one specialty pharmacy, and MyKelseyOnline, a secure web portal, are part of its comprehensive offerings. Kelsey-Seybold partners with major insurers to offer value-based commercial health plans. KelseyCare Advantage, a Medicare Advantage plan offered to Houston-area beneficiaries and affiliated with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, has achieved the coveted 5-out-of-5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for eight consecutive years.
Kelsey-Seybold has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as the nation’s first accredited Accountable Care Organization and is home to a nationally accredited Breast Diagnostic Center and Endoscopy Center.
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91. NPS is the global standard for measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction. An NPS score of 70 or higher is considered by industry experts to be "world class" and an indicator of overwhelming customer loyalty.