Our Compass

Methodist Healthcare Ministries is directed by a set of guiding principles and statements that support the fulfillment of its mission, are aligned with the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church, and ensure the organization is poised to advance health equity in ways that honor and dignify each individual and family living in its 74-county service area.

Guiding Principles

We understand that health and wellness begin long before individuals seek clinical care and prioritize the importance of the social determinants of health and access to quality resources and care as driving factors for the well-being of individuals, families, and communities throughout their lives.

We realize achievement of improved health and well-being of the people and communities we serve is a long-term commitment that requires intentional efforts focused on health equity.

We seek to balance our work for the least served by providing the best quality clinical care, connecting individuals and families to needed resources, and working with communities to improve their health and well-being.

We don’t do it alone. To address the needs of every community, we support, convene, and/or partner with others engaged in and/or leading efforts to improve community health and well-being.

We build relationships with churches and faith communities of all denominations to advance the health and well-being of families and whole communities.

We partner with people with lived experiences to co-design, co-create, co-evaluate changes that improve health and well-being of families and communities.

We support place-based efforts to strengthen historically underserved communities.

We sustain a culture of continuous improvement and learning where innovation is welcomed, practiced, tested, and implemented.

Commitment to Health Equity

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. believes that to improve the wellness of the least served and fully live out its mission of “Serving Humanity to Honor God,” it must recognize the inequities inherent in its communities that contribute to poor health outcomes. Health Equity is both the process and goal by which Methodist Healthcare Ministries seeks to carry out that purpose. Health Equity is a framework of thought and action that strives to reduce racial and socio-economic disparities and create fair and just opportunities for every person to reach their full potential for health and life and contribute to that of others.

Funding Philosophy

Our mission of Serving Humanity to Honor God calls us to do all we can to enhance well-being of the people and places in our service area so health equity is achievable, and ALL can thrive. Since our inception, Methodist Healthcare Ministries has believed that caring for health means caring for the whole person, and we recognize and affirm that health begins in community. We reinvest and steward our resources to work alongside the people in the places we serve, promoting lifelong well-being in body, mind, and spirit. We advance our mission through innovative and transformative approaches designed to address root causes and shift power through engaging in co- creation, influencing systems change, and strengthening communities.

Our Views

Racial Injustice

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.’s long standing mission is Serving Humanity to Honor God and our vision is to be the leader for improving wellness of the least served. We believe that to improve the wellness of the least served and fully live out our mission we must recognize the inequities inherent in our communities that contribute to poor health outcomes. Inequities revolving around maternal and infant health, chronic stress, trauma, education, food security, safe housing and financial wealth have resulted in vast differences in life expectancy and quality of life for people living in the 74 counties we serve.

We believe that by nurturing resilient families—regardless of one’s spirituality, income, race, gender, or sexual orientation—we help communities to thrive. And, only when everyone has access to quality healthcare, a good education, meaningful job opportunities, as well as safe and just living environments, can communities truly thrive.

The disenfranchisement of people of color in our community through policies and practices contributing to systemic racial oppression, including the suppression of opportunities to reach one’s full potential for health and life, does harm to all families and prevents every community from thriving.

As an organization rooted in the traditions of the Methodist faith, we proclaim, with the 2017-2020 Social Principles of the United Methodist Church, recognition of racism as sin and affirm the ultimate and temporal worth of all persons. We rejoice in the gifts that every racial group and culture bring to our total life and stand with our partners, patients, clients, and the communities we serve in rejecting all expressions of racism and policies and practices that erode inclusion and diminish health equity for all.

Immigration and Human Rights

Guided by our mission of Serving Humanity to Honor God, and the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church, Methodist Healthcare Ministries recognizes, embraces and affirms all persons are God’s children and therefore entitled to dignity and respect. No person should be subject to hostility or social discrimination based on immigration status, country of origin, age, race or ethnicity, gender expression, religion, or sexual orientation. We affirm the right of all persons to have opportunities for health and well-being, including safety, employment, access to housing, healthcare, and education. We strive to deeply listen and establish a dialogue that brings healing, hope, and reconciliation and will speak out when we witness hostility–either through words or deeds–towards any human whether stranger, sojourner, pilgrim or refugee in the communities we serve. We will not ignore injustice and will instead endeavor to provide opportunities for all to flourish and experience abundant life.