This week, Harris Health approved a proposal to name the chapel at the new LBJ Hospital The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) Chapel—recognizing the role TMO leaders played in advancing the $2.5 billion bond that made the new facility possible.

The decision follows years of organizing by TMO leaders who first came together in 2023 in response to overcrowding across Harris County’s public healthcare system. After discussion among member institutions, leaders developed and executed a strategy to support the Harris Health bond election.

That work was carried out through institutions across the Houston metro area. TMO leaders organized briefings with bishops and judicatory heads, who in turn encouraged their clergy to learn about the bond and provide educational materials about the bond to their congregations. Leaders distributed educational materials to members of over 100 congregations and community groups. They also held 24 workshops in congregations and at TMO assemblies to ensure clergy and lay leaders could inform their communities.

In the final stretch, more than 100 leaders participated in Get Out the Vote phone banks and block walking in targeted precincts connected to participating institutions.

The bond passed with broad voter support. TMO leaders did not step back after the election. They continued meeting with county commissioners and public officials to ensure the funds were implemented to expand access to care, negotiating behind the scenes and working through challenges including land acquisition.

At a recent board meeting, Harris Health CEO Dr. Esmaeil Porsa proposed naming the chapel at the new LBJ Hospital after TMO. The board approved the motion.

Dr. Porsa credited TMO as a major force behind the passage of the bond and the public will that made the new hospital possible. The recognition marks the first time Harris Health has named a hospital chapel after an organization rather than an individual.

The chapel will sit within a hospital built with public dollars secured through collective effort—an outcome shaped by leaders who organized their institutions, engaged their communities, and stayed at the table to see the work through.