The President's Welcome

Welcome to our website (Updated 10-1-2011). The Institute for Spirituality and Health is dedicated to the concept that humans are spiritual beings. This being true, the Institute seeks to increase awareness of the role that spirituality plays in healing, in coping with chronic illness and in maintaining optimal health. We also seek to be a meaningful voice to American medicine through programs offered and by bringing together scholars from academia and health caregivers, religious leaders, and the public to augment the public debate on spirituality and health issues.

Founded in 1955, the Institute was originally known as the Institute for Religion at the Texas Medical Center. Through the generosity of many individuals, a three-story building was constructed to house the Institute in the middle of the rapidly expanding Texas medical center. The Institute's fellow and scholar positions published papers on religious, biomedical and ethical issues. Early in its history the Institute also provided a Chaplaincy training program which has since been adopted by most hospitals.

Now, in its sixth decade, our current location at 8100 Greenbriar in the Texas Medical Center provides ample space for our staff, has a lecture hall seating seventy-five, and accessible, free parking. The Institute has an outstanding Board of Trustees and Adjunct Faculty. We hold four major conferences each year and throughout our history have offered seminars on timely subjects such as "Stem Cell Research."

This website -- www.SpiritualityAndHealth.org -- has recently been upgraded and is updated daily to provide information on upcoming events, lectures, workshops, and ready access to our ISH Newsletter which is available for download. We have a blog with interesting articles and comments from the literature and concerning events around the Texas Medical Center.

In September of 2010, we hired a Project Manager, Meagan Alley, a Rice University Graduate, to manage our research projects. Our first project is to survey the 13,000 physicians who are members of the Harris County Medical Society. Our medical community in Houston has great diversity with physicians from around the world, most having trained in one of our TMC hospitals. We are now in the process of analyzing the results of the data we have learned about their personal spirituality practices and how they spirituality into their medical practice. The results of our survey will be published on this site in the next few months.

In the Fall of 2010 we initiated Grand Rounds in the Texas Medical Center hospitals. These events allow us to share with physicians, nurses and medical staffs how they may better understand and address the spiritual issues of their patients. Another opportunity came about when I was invited to speak to the medical students at Baylor Medical Center through the L.A.C.E. program. In August, 2011, I was appointed to the Adjunct Faculty of the John McGovern Center for Humanities at the UT medical school. I am especially excited about the opportunity to work closely with physicians who are in training at both Baylor and UT school of medicine. It is the most formative time of their lives and I am honored to be present with them and I am sure I will learn from them, as well.

The most exciting thing that has happened recently is that Kenneth Pargament, Ph.D., noted author of two textbooks on Religion and Health, has arrived at ISH to serve as our Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence. He and his wife, Ailene, were welcomed at an Open House on September 15, 2011. We look forward to spending a year working with Dr. Pargament while he is on Sabbatical leave from Bowling Green State Univeristy where he serves as a Professor of Psychology. Dr. Pargament will present an address at the UT school of Medicine, Houston, on Thursday Oct 20, 2011. The talk is open to the public and you may register online.

Our Mission being to increase awareness of the role Spirituality plays in healing, I am available for lectures and talks to the TMC and surrounding community. For example, on October, 26, 2011 I will give the Keynote Address at Texas Children's Hosptal's Spiritual in Pediatrics Conference. Also in October, I will begin (on October 24) a four week study entitled, "21st C Biotechnology: Moral, Ethical, and Religious Response" at the Women's Institute in Houston. I also give frequent presentations to church and civic groups on Spirituality and Healing.

I invite your support of the Institute for Spirituality and Health's mission. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your gifts are tax deductible. We welcome your participation in the work of the Institute by your financial giving and by your presence at our activities. You are most welcome to visit our Greenbriar office anytime. If you have any questions, please call our office at 713-797-0600.

God bless,

John K. Graham, M.D., D.Min.
President/CEO