Hospital, city of Tomball propose statue of late medical doctor Norman Graham

Robert Marmerstein, CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball, addressed Tomball City Council members Nov. 2 about partnering to place a statue of the late medical doctor Norman Graham, a founder of Tomball's medical community, on the hospital campus. Marmerstein joined the hospital in June following the departure of Eric Evans.

"I don't need to tell you the importance of the contributions Dr. Graham's made in this community, but I will share with you that in [this] short time—that our hospital has impressed upon me pretty quickly how apparently [Graham]'s impacted not just the development of health care in our community but certainly the place we enjoy to work now."

Marmerstein said Council Member Lori Klein Quinn presented the idea of a statue in Graham's honor to hospital leadership earlier this fall. Graham died Sept. 3 at age 96, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.

Graham came to Tomball in the 1950s and became the Tomball Hospital's first chief of staff and hospital manager, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.

City Manager Rob Hauck said city staff could assist with statue design by working with Shirley Scarpetta, who has designed the other statues citywide, which would be helpful in establishing consistency between local statues.

The statue would be placed on hospital grounds at 605 Holderrieth Blvd., Tomball, Marmerstein said.

The city could also utilize the Tomball Legacy Fund, its nonprofit organization, to receive donations and funding from HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball; no taxpayer dollars would be used for the project unless council decides otherwise, Hauck said.

Council took no action on plans for a statue, as the agenda item was for discussion only.