Harris Health President and CEO Esmaeil Porsa shared the hospital district’s philanthropic efforts at the Jan. 29 Commissioners Court meeting, days after hospital officials topped off the newly-named John M. O’Quinn Hospital in northeast Houston, a part of the 2023 $2.5 billion voter-approved bond. (Courtesy Harris Health)
Harris County’s hospital district has raised $99 million, just $1 million shy of Harris Health’s fundraising goal to support the $2.9 billion capital building initiative approved by voters in the 2023 bond election.
The big picture
Harris Health President and CEO Esmaeil Porsa shared the update on the hospital district’s philanthropic efforts at the Jan. 29 Commissioners Court meeting, days after hospital officials finished the newly named John M. O’Quinn Hospital in northeast Houston, also part of the 2023 bond.
Porsa said the $99 million raised is seven years ahead of schedule.
“I want to thank Harris Health leadership, my team, employees, and medical staff,” Porsa said. “It is because of them, because of the trust that they have instilled in our community that we were able to achieve the 72.3% vote supporting our bond proposal, and to be able to achieve this milestone including $40 million from John M. O’Quinn Foundation, the largest single gift ever given to Harris Health, and the single largest gift ever given to any safety net hospital in the state of Texas.”
As construction at the hospital construction site showed in this 2025 photo, Harris Health officials said they've completed building the hospital's flood mitigation system consisting of six underground water tanks capable of holding up to 7.5 million gallons of rainwater to reduce chances of flooding. (Courtesy Harris Health)
The details
The fundraising announcement comes after Harris Health officials named the new Level I trauma-capable hospital after the late attorney and philanthropist, John M. O’Quinn. The naming ceremony took place Jan. 23 at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital campus, which is projected for completion in 2028 and opening in January 2029, according to a Jan. 23 news release.
Beth Robertson, a chair member with Harris Health’s Strategic Fund, said in a news release that the new hospital reflects a deep trust and shared vision of a healthier Harris County.
"Together, we're building more than a hospital—we're strengthening excellence in public healthcare and providing hope for generations of residents in Harris County and the greater southeast Texas region,” Robertson said.
The 2025 photo shows the new Harris County hospital under construction at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital campus in northeast Houston. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)
How we got here
While the entirety of the capital building initiative will cost $2.9 billion, as part of the multiphase, multiyear project, hospital officials previously told Community Impact that $2.5 billion will come from voter-approved funding, with Harris Health officials anticipating making enough revenue to offset $300 million.
The remaining $100 million in funding is coming from philanthropic efforts and donations, with opportunities for the new trauma hospital, as well as the three additional health centers in Harris County Precincts 2, 3 and 4.
The project
The John M. O’Quinn Hospital was designed with areas for expansion to meet future capacity needs, officials said. Once fully completed, the facility will be able to hold:
450 beds with private patient rooms, including 90 intensive care units, 30 postpartum units and 30 neonatal intensive care units
15 operating rooms, with one hybrid operating room
Seven catheterization laboratories capable of interventional radiology and computed tomography scans
Six generators, including three diesel and three natural gas, that will allow the hospital to produce its own power
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