History

Houston Ground Angels began with a single phone call in 2000. Kathy Broussard, a private pilot who volunteered to fly patients to Houston, received a tearful call from one of her patients, Eva Tovar. Eva explained that she had to cancel her trip to Houston because she could not afford the cost of ground transportation from the airport to MD Anderson.

Kathy refused to let Eva go without care. She flew Eva to Houston and then drove her to her appointment at the Cancer Center. Afterward, Kathy realized the problem was bigger than one person: out-of-town patients shouldn’t be unable to access treatment in Houston simply because they can’t afford a taxi ride between the airport and the Medical Center.

To help solve that need locally, Kathy placed a small advertisement in the volunteer section of her local newspaper. Houston Ground Angels was born. Early records show that volunteers responded in large numbers and completed about 300 missions in the remainder of that first year.

The organization separated from the volunteer pilots’ group in 2006.

Houston Ground Angels volunteers have completed in excess of 41,500 missions since the organization began.

Requests for rides increase each year; and in 2011, the Board of Directors approved hiring a small staff for logistical coordination and operational guidance.

Patients consistently express gratitude for the empathy and concern of driver volunteers and mission coordinators.

The organization aims to welcome out of town patients to Houston with a sense of security, and also provides medical transportation for local patients to their critical treatment.  Many of the major medical hospitals now have treatment centers dotted around the suburbs.

Our volunteers seek  to welcome out of town patients visiting Houston, give them a sense of security, letting them know that someone is looking out for them. For all of our patients, we seek to relieve some of the stress surrounding their medical treatment and ongoing care.

New driver volunteers are always needed – if you live in the Houston area PLEASE join us.