HOUSTON (March 3, 2022) — Arthur Bracey, MD, has been reelected as chair of the Harris Health System Board of Trustees, the governing body for the public healthcare system in Harris County. Joining him in board leadership positions are Ewan D. Johnson, MD, PhD, vice chair, and Andrea Caracostis, MD, secretary.
Bracey, Johnson and Caracostis were recently elected by the nine-member board. Each will serve for the 2022-23 fiscal year and provides Harris Health’s leadership support in its effort to provide high-quality healthcare for the residents of Harris County.
Bracey, a professor of pathology and immunology at Baylor College of Medicine, and chief of clinical pathology at CHI Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, was originally appointed to the board in 2018.
He has served on numerous boards and professional groups including as: a member of the Medical Advisory Committee for the American Red Cross, chair of the Annual Meeting Education Program Unit for the American Association of Blood Banks, chair of the Transfusion Medicine Resource Committee for the College of American Pathologists, board member of the American Association of Blood Banks, board member of the National Marrow Donor Program, chair of the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and president of the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management.
Johnson, a physician specializing in internal medicine and medical oncology is a member of Tomball Regional Internal Medicine Associates, was originally appointed to the board in 2016.
Johnson received his medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. His postgraduate training included a clinical internship and clinical residency in Internal Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Including training at Memorial Hermann Hospital, Texas Heart Institute, CHI St. Luke’s Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. He also received clinical fellowship training in Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
He serves as chair of the board of HCA Houston Healthcare-Tomball and is a Federal aviation medical examiner designated by the Federal Aviation Administration Administrator in Washington, D.C.
Johnson also received his doctorate in Organic Chemistry from Rice University, and received postgraduate training in Health and Medical Administration from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. He has authored and coauthored peer reviewed articles and abstracts in Cancer Medicine.
Caracostis, a medical physician and executive director since 2007 of HOPE Clinic—a federally qualified health center providing care to the large multicultural community in Southwest Houston—was originally appointed to the board in 2020.
She holds a master’s degree in public health from Texas A&M University and has more than 25 years of healthcare experience. Under her leadership, HOPE Clinic has grown from five employees and a $700,000 budget to a large corporation employing more than 200 staff and a $20 million budget. HOPE Clinic is nationally recognized as a quality and innovation leader by the Bureau of Primary Care. Caracostis is board member at various local and national healthcare organizations including Texas Association of Community Health Centers, Asian American and Pacific Islanders Community Health Center Organization and Susan G. Komen Medical board.
Members on the Harris Health Board of Trustees are volunteers and appointed by Harris County Commissioners Court. Each member is appointed for a two-year term and can serve additional terms at the will of the court. The other current members on the board are Lawrence D. Finder, Marcia Johnson, Elena Marks, Mia Mends, Alicia Reyes and Jennifer Tijerina.