It was March 15, 1949. Dr. Mavis Kelsey had just come to Houston from the staff of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. A fifth-generation Texan, he had a dream of establishing "a Mayo Clinic of the Southwest" here in the Bayou City. In that model, general physicians worked hand-in-hand with consulting specialists as a seamless medical team.
It was an audacious goal, indeed. There were only 900 doctors here at that time, and only seven board certified surgeons. What was to be the Texas Medical Center was open farm land with two hospitals: Baylor College of Medicine and Hermann Hospital.
Dr. Kelsey saw his first patient in the 750-square-foot office he shared in the Hermann Professional Building. He made house calls twice a day to sick patients and was on-call in the evenings at the Rice Hotel. He was a true medical pioneer, staying on the cutting edge of technology and breakthroughs, bringing in the "best and the brightest" from around the country, collaborating with colleagues and teaching in the new hospitals of the Texas Medical Center.
He opened what is now the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, and with the help of partners such as Dr. John Kelsey, Dr. Bill Seybold and Dr. William Leary, it became one of the most prestigious institutions in the state.
Now, 60 years later, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic has grown from a single office to 20 locations throughout the Houston area. More than 350 physicians provide medical care in more than 50 medical specialties and sub-specialties.
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic has proudly served as the official medical contractor for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) since 1966. And since 2002, The Clinic has been part of the St. Luke's Episcopal Health System.
Millions have been invested in the Epic System, which gives all doctors immediate access to digital medical records throughout the system. And to celebrate this auspicious anniversary, Kelsey-Seybold is unveiling MyKelseyOnline, a new level of patient-centered service which can be accessed 24/7 on the Web.
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic has made history with Houston. And with so many talented and devoted professionals dedicated to practicing patient-centered medicine, we look forward to a future that's every bit as exciting as the storied heritage we celebrate.
