Skip to main content

Workshop: Making Houston a Healthy City 

Published Dec 17, 2019 by Sophia Guevara

The Partnership’s Health Care Advisory Committee, chaired by Troy Villarreal, hosted a two-part Healthy Cities workshop, facilitated by McKinsey & Company, focused on understanding what can be done to make Houston a healthier city. While Houston is fortunate to have some of the best medical care in the world, it is not often viewed as one of the healthiest cities. Workshop participants discussed the areas of opportunity where Houston fell short of the national average and worked to identify potential advocacy pathways for public policies relating to the health of the Houston region.  

The workshop began with putting into focus a high-level perspective on Houston's path to a healthy city and identified key factors influencing the outcome of health in the Houston region. The Houston region scores well on certain health outcomes but faces headwinds against national averages on other key metrics. While Houston is home to the largest medical center in the world, there are 1,722 patients per primary care doctor in the Houston city limits, compared to a 1,330 average in the United States. Similarly, there are 920 patients per mental health provider, but the national average is 426 patients per provider.

Building off interviews with employers in the Houston region and with experts in health care and health policy, the workshop participants refined a framework of five interrelated factors influencing health outcomes in Houston and used it as a basis for assessing the health of Houston.  

The framework’s key factors included: 1) health behaviors; 2) clinical care; 3) the built environment; 4) socioeconomic factors; and 5) social connectedness. Each of these factors have key measures through which progress can be tracked and resulting potential policies and programs that could be pursued to improve health in Houston. The resulting areas of opportunity that emerged from this exercise were: 1) wellness and healthy lifestyle; 2) childhood obesity; 3) maternal health and wellness; 4) mental health; and 5) disease prevention and care. 

During the second Healthy Cities Workshop, McKinsey & Company led small group discussions concerning how the Partnership could support policy changes to enable improvement in Houston's health in each of the five areas of opportunity. To prioritize the efforts, the workshop participants discussed and debated policy solutions and potential programs that would best address the most health outcomes at once or lead to the largest impact on Houston’s health and narrowed down the focus to potential solutions relating to mental health, obesity prevention, childhood health, and maternal health. 

There are already many organizations in Houston dedicated to addressing these health issues. In an effort to understand the current landscape, and to identify opportunities to amplify existing efforts, a catalogue was created of the programs in Houston that focus on improving health outcomes. Click here to access the catalogue.

The Health Care Advisory Committee will continue this work in 2020 by considering the political feasibility and the path forward on the many policy solutions proposed to help make Houston a healthier city.  

To learn more about the Health Care Advisory Committee, click here
To learn about how to join the Policy Committees, please email member.engagement@houston.org
 

Related News

Public Policy

Constitutional Ballot Could Have Big Implications for Houston Region

7/10/25
This November, millions of Texas voters will head to the polls to decide whether to approve or reject 17 proposed constitutional amendments by state lawmakers. It’s an annual process that plays out in the fall during odd-numbered years following a legislative session.  This year, however, the potential benefits for the Houston area are greater based on two key funding proposals: $1 billion annually for water projects and $300 million annually for a newly created Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT). Secretary of State Jane Nelson drew the order for the November 4 ballot last month, following the end of the veto period. As the state’s top election official, the Secretary of State oversees organizing the constitutional election. The propositions are drawn at random to determine the order in which they appear on the ballot. The two key propositions supported by the Partnership are as follows: Prop 4: "The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas water fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue." Prop 14: "The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue." The language above is precisely what will be included on the ballot. However, there is much more to these propositions and the legislation passed into law that makes these initiatives possible. Click here to read more about the potential $20 billion investment in water. Click here to learn more about the potential impact $3 billion in total funding for DPRIT could have on Houston’s medical research community. Included in the additional 15 propositions are recommendations related to the creation of a dedicated fund to support skilled trade programs at Texas State Technical College, changing the state’s tax code, and providing a tax exemption to surviving spouses of fallen veterans in specific scenarios.  A complete list of the ballot order and prop language is available on the Secretary of State’s website.  
Read More
Public Policy

Show Houston the Money: Exploring the $338 Billion Texas Budget

7/10/25
This year, Texas lawmakers passed a historic spending bill that increased the two-year funding total by more than $27 billion over the previous budget. A portion of that spending was included in the Supplemental Budget (House Bill 500), providing immediate funding for targeted projects. The direct impact on the Houston area over the next two years is significant: $1.22 billion in new programmatic funding for 47 school districts around the Houston region $1.17 billion across local medical schools Nearly $362 million in dedicated funding for flood prevention & water supply projects $135 million for regional operational centers for the Texas Department of Emergency Management and other emergency operations $12.8 million for upgrades to the Harris County Psychiatric Hospital Click here for an infographic highlighting other policy victories for the state and the city of Houston. These targeted investments are enormous for the Houston region, but there is also much more on the horizon. On November 4, Texas voters will decide on 17 constitutional propositions, two of which could bring more funding to local communities, including: Prop 4: Authorizing the legislature to dedicate $1 billion annually to the Texas Water Fund over the next 20 years Prop 14: Authorizing the creation of a Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and providing $3 billion over the next 10 years Exploring the Budget The Partnership has updated its Budget Explorer Tool with the final version passed by lawmakers. Using this tool, you can explore topline funding by agency, specific funding for water and education programs, and search new funding projections for individual school districts. There is also a table of contents that links to appropriations for each agency.  Here’s a quick reminder on how to read the state budget: Method of Financing: From where does the money come (i.e., state, federal, or other)? Strategy Funding: The highlighted funding for specific programs and targeted goals for the agency Riders: This is the last section of the agency funding in the bill, and it gives specific instructions on how the dollars are to be spent. Article IX: This is where you will find additional provisions on spending and revenue, as well as contingency funding.  For more updates and alerts on the Texas Legislature, click here to sign up for our policy newsletter. 
Read More

Related Events

Membership

Membership 101

Join the Partnership for Membership 101 on August 5 to get an overview of member benefits, upcoming Partnership programs and events, and valuable resources. Attend the…

Learn More
Learn More
Executive Partners