Q&A: New Harris County ESD 11 CEO emphasizes importance of employee satisfaction
Harris County Emergency Services District No. 11, the largest ambulance-only emergency services district in Texas, named Jordan Anderson as the permanent CEO on June 24.
In a nutshell: Anderson has been working in EMS since 2003, and he joined ESD 11 in 2021. He previously worked as a paramedic and held various leadership positions for the Montgomery County Hospital District, and he served as CEO for Sterling EMS in Dallas-Fort Worth. Community Impact spoke with Anderson about his first few months in the new position.
Quote of note: "I wanted to be very employee focused, so my goal has been for us to be the best place for an EMT or a paramedic to work," Anderson told Community Impact. "I sent a survey out with an extensive list of questions to try and hone in on what we should do. What I’ve done, as a result, is provided mental health services for our providers, so we have licensed therapists available to support our providers and everything they go through."
Harris Health eyes Hermann Park land for $410M Ben Taub hospital expansion
The Harris Health board of trustees unanimously approved a resolution Sept. 23 calling for the acquisition of a portion of Hermann Park to support the expansion of Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital, according to a news release.
Current situation: The board authorized the Harris Health legal team to take all necessary actions to purchase three parcels of land in Hermann Park—totaling about 8.9 acres, or 2% of the park—by eminent domain. The land currently belongs to the city of Houston, which oversees the park’s operations.
How we got here: Harris County voters approved a $2.5 billion Harris Health hospital bond in 2023, which included plans for the Ben Taub expansion, according to past Community Impact reporting. The $410 million project would add approximately 100 patient rooms to the hospital, which has been consistently operating at and beyond its 402-bed capacity, according to the release.
