Shell Houston Open

(HUMBLE, TX February 9, 2012) - Memorial Hermann has signed a three-year agreement to be the Official Healthcare Provider for the Shell Houston Open PGA TOUR event and presenting sponsor of the Houston Golf Association's Youth programs.

"We are excited to have an ongoing partnership with Memorial Hermann Healthcare System at the Shell Houston Open as well as our amateur programming throughout the year," said Steve Timms, President/CEO of the Houston Golf Association.

The agreement starts at this spring's tournament, set the week of March 26-April 1, and runs through the 2014 Shell Houston Open.

"Memorial Hermann is proud to partner with the Shell Houston Open PGA TOUR event as the official healthcare provider as well as the Houston Golf Association's Youth Programming," said Dan Wolterman, President and CEO of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. "Like Memorial Hermann, the HGA is a longstanding Houston institution. The organization has introduced thousands of area inner-city youth to the game of golf through The First Tee ® of Greater Houston program. We are happy to support HGA's efforts to stimulate the interest of children in an active, healthy lifestyle through the game of golf."

Besides providing medical care during the Shell Houston Open, Memorial Hermann will be the presenting sponsor of The First Tee ® of Greater Houston's Champions Challenge for elementary school students. This skills test for fourth-graders will be held on March 24, the Saturday before the Shell Houston Open on the adjacent David Shindeldecker Campus of The First Tee of Greater Houston facility in Humble, TX.

Memorial Hermann will also be a presenting sponsor in the HGA Junior Golf Program's Tournament Series as well as the HGA-sanctioned Greater Houston Men's Amateur, Senior Men's Amateur and Junior Amateur Championships.

An integrated health system, Memorial Hermann (www.memorialhermann.org) is known for world-class clinical expertise, patient-centered care, leading edge technology, and innovation. The system, with its exceptional medical staff and more than 20,000 employees, serves southeast Texas and the greater Houston community. Memorial Hermann's 12 hospitals include three hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, including a level 1 trauma center, a hospital for children and a rehabilitation hospital; a rehabilitation hospital in Katy; and eight suburban hospitals.  The system also operates three Heart & Vascular Institute locations, the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute, an air ambulance, cancer, imaging and surgery centers, sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, outpatient laboratories, a chemical dependency treatment center, a home health agency, a retirement community and a nursing home.
 
Houston Golf Association, a 501c (3) non-profit organization, has generated more than $55 million for local charity since 1974.