A $15 million gift from the Fondren Foundation is allowing the Houston Methodist Hospital system to create a new entity for wellness.

This donation will enable Houston Methodist to use resources from two existing programs — the Immunology Center and the Food and Health Alliance — to create the Fondren Inflammation Collaborative. The Fondren Foundation expects this program will become a local, regional, and international nexus for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal and immunological disorders and severe food allergies.

"Patients with these complex conditions often travel from doctor to doctor for years in search of a proper diagnosis and treatment," says Rob Fondren, former chair of The Fondren Foundation, in a release. "Recognizing the challenges faced by these patients and their families, The Fondren Foundation's vision is to close the gap in patient care by building an international destination of hope and relief for people with these complex, often intertwined conditions and their underlying inflammatory triggers. A central hub focused on these debilitating disorders would fill a significant gap in the Texas Medical Center."

Houston Methodist turns 100 this year. The Fondren family has served the hospital throughout its history. Fondren family members have served on the Houston Methodist board as well as councils and task forces.

"Houston Methodist would not be where it is today had it not been for the leadership of the Fondren family," says Marc Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, in a release. "There is really no family more unparalleled in the history of Houston Methodist. They have contributed to this institution for essentially 100 consecutive years. It's astonishing and humbling the contributions this family has made generation after generation."

The Fondren Foundation donation to form the Fondren Inflammation Collaborative will pay dividends now and for years to come, according to the release. The donation provides for four endowed chairs, research, education, counseling, and training, which will help the Collaborative achieve its initial goals of finding the link between inflammation and gastrointestinal and immunological health and then running clinical trials with groundbreaking treatments. In the future, the Collaborative will expand its scope to understanding the connection between inflammation and other disease-prone areas of the body.

"We're an organization built on the pillars of success, and we constantly evolve," says Roberta Schwarz, executive vice president, chief innovation officer, in a recent InnovationMap interview. "I can't even tell you where we'll be in a hundred years."