Meet the Leaders

TIRR Memorial Hermann is a national leader in medical rehabilitation and research and a model for interdisciplinary rehabilitation services, patient care, education, and research.

Under the leadership team, including Senior Vice President & Chief Executive Officer Rhonda Abbott, Vice President, Operations Christine Adair, Interim Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer Judy Ho and Chief Medical Officer Gerard E. Francisco, TIRR Memorial Hermann has fortified existing programs and developed new programs, seen significant increases in patient satisfaction, increased efficiency and logged improvements in quality, customer experience and operational excellence.

Rhonda M. Abbott, PT, FTPTA

Senior Vice President & Chief Executive Officer
TIRR Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy, Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network

Since 2001, Abbott has held integral roles within TIRR Memorial Hermann, starting her career as a staff therapist in the spinal cord injury and specialty rehabilitation program and earning successive promotions to director of therapy services and director of clinical programs, vice president of operations and chief operating officer.

Abbott oversees TIRR Memorial Hermann’s continued excellence in rehabilitative care, research, advocacy and education across the Memorial Hermann Health System. Under her leadership, Abbott has led clinical care redesign initiatives, translational research efforts, quality care improvements, expansion of therapy education programs and efficiency improvements. During her tenure, the Campus continued to demonstrate national recognition as a leader in rehabilitation by U.S. News & World Report. She also led TIRR expansion efforts and clinical practice leveling across our System, helped secure CARF accreditation at three of our Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network locations, provided therapy direction both at TIRR Memorial Hermann and for the Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network, and expanded the rehabilitation education program. Abbott has a passion for neurorehabilitation and teaching and is actively committed to learning, which led to her enthusiasm for therapy leadership.

Abbott is on the board of directors for the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association, a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and American College of Healthcare Executives, a Texas Physical Therapy Association Tom Waugh Leadership Development Fellow, champion of Women Leaders of Memorial Hermann, graduate of the Center for Houston’s Future Business/Civic Leadership Forum and an advocate for the ReelAbilities Film Committee.

As SVP and CEO, Abbott will continue to lead the TIRR mission forward, to be the world’s standard bearer for rehabilitation and research and redefining rehabilitation. She will continue to ground the System as a leader in medical rehabilitation and research, and as a provider of exceptional patient experiences.

Judy Ong Ho, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC, CPHQ, LSSBB

Interim Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer
TIRR Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy, Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network

Judy Ho, TIRR’s Interim Chief Nursing Officer, joined the Memorial Hermann Health System in 2015 and most recently served as Executive Nursing Operations Liaison.

An advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), Ho brings to TIRR extensive experience in system-level strategic planning, performance excellence, quality improvement and patient safety. During her career in health care administration, she has collaborated extensively with senior executives to address organizational mission, vision and values through strategic planning, goal setting and action planning. An inspirational, agile and results-driven leader, she is known for her effectiveness in coaching and mentoring the workforce in building a culture of learning.

Her administrative experience includes overseeing clinical excellence, education, projects, organizational development, project management, program consultation, and performance improvement. She also has extensive experiences in nursing practice process improvement and quality assurance and coordination. As Executive Nursing Operations Liaison for the Memorial Hermann Health System, her duties included corporate-wide oversight for the assessment of future needs, service lines and the development of long-term strategic initiatives.

Ho earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, and her Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

She holds certifications as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (ACNS-BC), Nurse Executive, Advanced (NEA-BC) and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). She is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB), a designation earned by individuals trained to lead complex process improvement projects, reduce defects, eliminate waste and enhance organizational efficiency and quality through data-driven approaches. Since 2016, she has served on the board of examiners for the an Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.

Ho is a member of the American Nurses Association, Texas Nurses Association, National Association for Healthcare Quality, American Society for Quality and American College of Health Care Executives.

Gerard Francisco, MD, FAAPMR

Chief Medical Officer
TIRR Memorial Hermann

Professor and Chairman of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)

Adjunct Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Baylor College of Medicine

Chair, Rehabilitation Clinical Practice Committee
Memorial Hermann Health System

Dr. Francisco is one of the nation's leading physicians in the field of brain injury and stroke rehabilitation and spasticity management. A frequent lecturer nationally and internationally, he is currently conducting research on the use of botulinum toxins and intrathecal baclofen for the treatment of spasticity, along with the use of robots to facilitate recovery after stroke or spinal cord injury. He is one of three principal investigators of a four-year National Institutes of Health R01 grant to create and validate a noninvasive brain-robot interface to help stroke patients recover use of their upper limbs to the fullest extent possible.

Dr. Francisco received his medical degree from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey Medical School, where he was chief resident. He was inducted as a member of the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth's Academy of Master Educators in 2012, and upon election to the University of Texas System Academy of Health Science Educators in 2013 was awarded the title Distinguished Teaching Professor. He was named among U.S. News & World Report's Best Doctors in America in 2011, among Texas Monthly Magazine's Texas Super Doctors in 2012, and has been on the Best Doctors in America® list several times since 2000. He was former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' brain injury rehabilitation physician during her stay at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

During his tenure as chief medical officer at TIRR Memorial Hermann, Dr. Francisco has recruited accomplished clinicians and researchers, fortified existing programs and developed new programs to meet patient needs, including the creation and expansion of the Outpatient Medical Clinic, which includes a medical home for individuals with disabilities age 13 and older who require care by a physician. He is also director of the UTHealth Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Motor Recovery Lab at TIRR Memorial Hermann, which conducts research in robot-assisted rehabilitation, noninvasive brain stimulation and spasticity management.

Christine Adair, MBA, MOT, OT

Vice President of Operations
TIRR Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy, Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network

Adair joined TIRR Memorial Hermann in 2005 as an occupational therapist after completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Rhode Island in Providence, and her master’s degree in occupational therapy at New York University in New York City. After several years of service in a clinical role at TIRR, she expanded her experience by consulting in OT and education before returning to TIRR in 2010 as a senior occupational therapist.

Adair advanced to weekend therapy manager and then joined Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital as director of rehabilitation, where she led the unit through TIRR branding and recognition as the first Memorial Hermann community hospital to achieve Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) designation. She also has held roles as director of the TIRR Memorial Hermann Education Academy and director of operations at Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy.

Adair completed Quality of Texas Examiner Training in 2017 and 2019 and received her Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management from Rice University in 2017. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and of the Memorial Hermann Women Leaders Membership and Champions Committee.