The crown jewel of health care, education and research in Houston is the Texas Medical Center (TMC), considered the world’s largest medical center. It was first developed in 1945 with a dream to create a medical center where people from all walks of life could have access to the best health care anywhere, regardless of their race, age or financial position. Today that dream is fully realized and one can find people from every social circumstance and from many of the world's nations seeking treatment at one of the center's 49 renowned institutions. Inside this section, you’ll find descriptions of TMC facilities and institutions as well as those located outside the TMC. There's also a locator map of all Houston-area hospitals.

Benefiting the entire region, many TMC institutions are making the Texas Medical Center quality of care convenient to even more people by placing clinics, offices and other facilities in neighborhoods throughout Houston and the surrounding communities, and even in other parts of Texas and the world.

In addition to the TMC’s economic impact, which is estimated at more than $6 billion in the regional expenditures of goods and services, TMC brings to the city some of the world’s finest medical talent. It draws foreign patients – nearly 18,000 in 2009. The center’s research has given Houston a well-defined pathway into biotechnology and other high-tech industries. TMC also provides tens of millions of dollars in pro bono health care to the community, and TMC employees serve the community as sports coaches, Scout leaders and civic volunteers.

Texas Medical Center
In the Texas Medical Center, there is something to meet everybody's needs. Two trauma facilities are located in the center, as are institutions specializing in every imaginable aspect of health care, including care for children, cancer patients, heart care, organ transplantation, terminal illness, mental health and wellness and prevention.

All 49 of institutions of the Texas Medical Center are not-for-profit and are dedicated to the highest standards of patient care, research and education. These institutions include 13 renowned hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the first, and still the largest, air ambulance service was created; a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed; and more heart surgeries are performed than anywhere else in the world.

As the largest medical center in the world, the Texas Medical Center (TMC) is an internationally recognized community of healing, education and groundbreaking research. TMC is the home of many of the nation's best hospitals, physicians, researchers, educational institutions and health care providers. 

With more than 1,000 acres, The Texas Medical Center is a “city within a city’’ located about three miles south of downtown Houston, south of Hermann Park and east of Rice University. With 5.5 million patient visits a year, the Texas Medical Center has 46 not-for-profit member institutions providing patient care, cutting-edge research and education for medical students, nursing students and even high school students at the Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, a Magnet school within the Houston Independent School District.

Beyond its impact on health care, the Texas Medical Center is Houston’s largest single-site employer, with more than 82,000 employees. As reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas-Houston Branch, the medical center contributes $6 billion in regional spending, $3.9 billion in personal income and more than 140,000 jobs. The medical center’s impact is felt primarily through its regional purchases of goods and services—more than $2 billion a year.

The John P. McGovern Texas Medical Center Commons provides a centrally located facility where students, visitors, employees and volunteers can meet, eat, shop and park under one roof. Located in the heart of the medical center, the 288,000-square-foot building is within walking distance from most medical center institutions. Amenities include a variety of eateries, a fresh floral and gift shop, a bank and an upscale Italian restaurant.

Transportation through the medical center is enhanced with METRORail, which runs 7.5 miles from Reliant Park, south of Loop 610 South, to the University of Houston Downtown, just north of downtown. METRORail has four stations in the medical center area, running down Fannin with stops at Memorial Hermann Hospital/ Houston Zoo, Dryden/TMC and TMC Transit Center, and then turning onto South Braeswood and then Greenbriar, where it stops at the Smith Lands parking area, which provides parking for medical center employees.

Described below are the hospitals and institutions that comprise the Texas Medical Center.

— Memorial Hermann Hospital
Celebrating its centennial in 2007, Memorial Hermann serves the greater Houston community through 13 hospitals and many specialty programs and services, including three premiere Heart & Vascular Institutes. TIRR Memorial Hermann and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, seven comprehensive Cancer Centers, 25 sports medicine and rehabilitation centers (as of May 2009), 19 diagnostic laboratories, a substance abuse treatment center, 25 outpatient imaging centers and dozens of other specialty and outpatient centers. Memorial Hermann operates one of two level 1 trauma centers in Houston and provides the city’s only hospital-based air ambulance program, Life Flight, as well as the city’s only burn treatment center.

During 2008, its hospitals logged 140,763 inpatient admissions; 641,919 outpatient visits; 377,256 emergency visits; nearly 3,000 Life Flight missions; and 25,411 newborn deliveries – all made possible by the commitment of the system’s 19,500 dedicated employees. Memorial Hermann makes a real difference in the health of the community, annually contributing in excess of $300 million in the form of uncompensated care and community benefit programs, including an award-winning network of public school-based health centers.

Working with its 4,178 medical staff physicians, Memorial Hermann has achieved numerous awards for clinical excellence. Employees have voted Memorial Hermann a Best Place to Work for the past five years, noting the hospital’s generous tuition reimbursement program and employee assistance fund, which has given more than $1 million to employees in crisis. For more information, call 713-222-2273 or visit www.memorialhermann.org.

— The Methodist Hospital
A 90-year legacy of medical milestones has attracted patients from around the world to The Methodist Hospital, a major academic medical center in Houston. Methodist, which was the home of famed heart surgeon Michael E. DeBakey, is consistently named among the country’s top hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, ranking in 8 of the 16 specialties in 2009. Also in 2010, Methodist was named No. 17 on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Methodist is primarily affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian, two of the nation’s leading centers for clinical care, medical education and research. Methodist is committed to providing the finest spiritual care coupled with healing skill, compassion and respect for human dignity.

An in-house physician referral service can connect people to physicians at any Methodist hospital based on specialty and, in some cases, can even set up an appointment. Some Methodist operators are nurses who can connect the patient to the proper physician. For more information, call 713-790-3311 or visit www.methodisthealth.com.

— St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System and Texas Heart Institute
Dedicated “to the glory of God and the service of mankind,” St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System started in 1954 as St. Luke’s Hospital. St. Luke’s soon made headlines with such milestones as the first successful heart transplantation and the first laser angioplasty procedure.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System includes St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital; St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital; St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, a charity devoted to assessing and enhancing community health, especially among the underserved; and KS Management Services LLC, overseeing 18 area clinic locations.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is home to the Texas Heart® Institute, which was founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD, and is consistently ranked nationally among the top 10 cardiology and heart surgery centers n the nation by U.S. News & World Reports.

Affiliated with several nursing schools and two medical schools, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was the first hospital in Texas named a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence and has been honored three times with the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence by Health-Grades, a leading independent company that measures healthcare quality in hospitals. The Health System has been recognized by Fortune magazine as among the “100 Best Companies to Work For” and by the Houston Business Journal as a top employer in Houston. St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System also was honored as one of Modern Healthcare magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work.” Visit www.stlukestexas.org or call 832-355-DOCS (3627) for physician referral.

— Shriners Hospital for Children-Houston
Shriners Hospital for Children is a one-of-a-kind health care system dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs. Every year, the Shriners Hospitals for Children provides care for thousands of kids with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate, in a family-centered environment t no charge. It’s how Shriners Hospitals has been helping kids defy the odds since 1922.

In Houston, Shriners Hospital for Children is a 40-bed pediatric orthopedic hospital, research and teaching center providing comprehensive medical, surgical and rehabilitative care to children with orthopedic conditions. For information, call 713-797-1616 or visit www.shriner-shq.org.

— Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is an internationally recognized full-care pediatric hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. One of the largest pediatric hospitals in the United States, Texas Children's Hospital is dedicated to providing the finest possible pediatric patient care, education and research.

Texas Children's is nationally ranked in the top 10 among children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthrough developments in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, asthma, HIV, premature babies and cardiogenic and attention-related disorders.

Texas Children’s is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is its primary pediatric training site. Baylor professors also are the service chiefs and staff physicians of Texas Children's more than 40 patient care centers.

The hospital's award-winning medical staff consists of more than 1,580 board-certified, primary-care physicians, pediatric subspecialists, pediatric surgical subspecialists and dentists. In addition, Texas Children's offers a dedicated, highly skilled nursing and support staff of more than 6,000.

Looking toward the future, Texas Children's is investing $1.5 billion in research and patient care initiatives, the largest short-term investment ever by a single children's hospital. Major projects, scheduled for completion in 2010, include a neurological research institute, a new center for obstetric care, expanded research facilities and one of the largest pediatric hospitals in a suburban setting. For more information about Texas Children's hospital, call 800-364-KIDS (5437) or visit texaschildrens.org.

— The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Celebrating more than six decades of Making Cancer History®, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is located in Houston on the sprawling campus of the Texas Medical Center. It is one of the world’s most respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was created by the Texas Legislature in 1941 as a component of The University of Texas System. The institution is one of the nation’s original three Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971 and is one of 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers today.

In 2008, U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey ranked M. D. Anderson as the top hospital in the nation for cancer care. M. D. Anderson has achieved the top ranking four times in the past six years and has ranked as one of the top two hospitals for cancer care for 19 years, since the magazine began its annual survey in 1990.

Since 1944, nearly 800,000 patients have turned to M. D. Anderson for cancer care in the form of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy or combinations of these and other treatments. This multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer was pioneered at M. D. Anderson. Because they focus only on cancer, experts here are renowned for their ability to treat all types of cancer, including rare or uncommon diseases.

In 2008, more than 79,000 people with cancer will receive care at M. D. Anderson, and more than 27,000 of them will be new patients. About one-third of these patients come from outside Texas seeking the knowledge-based care that has made M. D. Anderson so widely respected. More than 11,500 patients participated in therapeutic clinical research exploring novel treatments in Fiscal Year 2007, making it the largest such program in the nation.

At M. D. Anderson, important scientific knowledge gained in the laboratory is rapidly translated into clinical care. In 2006, the institution invested more than $410 million in research, an increase of about 95 percent in the past five years. M. D. Anderson ranks first in the number of grants awarded and total amount of grants given by the NCI. M. D. Anderson holds 10 NCI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence grants: bladder, breast, endometrial, head and neck, leukemia, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate. The research program is considered one of the most productive efforts in the world aimed solely at cancer.

Each year, more than 4,300 students take part in educational programs, which include physicians, scientists, nurses and many health professionals. M. D. Anderson offers bachelor's degrees in seven allied health disciplines. In addition, more than 1,000 clinical residents and fellows come to M. D. Anderson each year to receive specialized training in the investigation and treatment of cancer. More than 500 graduate students are working on advanced degrees at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, which M. D. Anderson operates jointly with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. More than 1,300 research fellows are being trained in M. D. Anderson's laboratories and clinics. For more information about M. D. Anderson, call 713-792-2121 or visit www.mdanderson.org.

— TIRR Memorial Hermann
Recognized as one of the leading rehabilitation hospitals in the country, TIRR Memorial Hermann serves as a model system for interdisciplinary rehabilitation services, patient care, education and a center of research. For 19 consecutive years, TIRR has appeared on the list of America’s Best rehabilitation hospitals published by U.S. News and World Report magazine – every year of the survey’s existence.

Its reputation comes from more than 40 years of experience in rehabilitation and research, the high caliber of our physician partners and clinical staff, as well as comprehensive programs and services. The reputation of TIRR does not end with research and rehabilitation services. Educating patients, families, healthcare professionals, caregivers and the general public about rehabilitation has been a long-standing commitment. In addition, extending TIRR’s knowledge and resources into the community remains a top priority and to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by disabling injury and illness.

In 2007, TIRR earned the number four spot in the nation for rehabilitation.
More than 4,000 patients have completed their rehabilitation in the TIRR Spinal Cord Injury Program. The Brain Injury and Stroke Program helps with the physical, communicative, cognitive and behavioral problems faced by people with brain injuries. Similar care is provided for stroke survivors.

The Amputee Program serves patients with traumatic amputations, congenital limb deficiencies and disease-related amputations. TIRR also treats infants, children and adolescents with virtually any physical disability or injury. A specialty rehabilitation program serves those with special problems such as multiple sclerosis and complex orthopedic problems.

TIRR has eight rehabilitation centers located in the Houston area, including the Texas Medical Center, inner loop, east and northwest areas, two on the west side of Houston, Pasadena and Sugar Land.For patient referral, call 800-44-REHAB (447-3422) or visit www.memorialhermann.org.

— Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC)
Awarded the Robert W. Carey Organizational Excellence Award in 2005, the Robert W. Carey Circle of Excellence Quality Award in 2007 and redesignation for Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services in 2008, the MEDVAMC serves as the primary health care provider for more than 120,000 veterans in south-east Texas. Veterans from around the country are referred to the MEDVAMC for specialized diagnostic care, radiation therapy, surgery and medical treatment including cardiovascular surgery, gastrointestinal endoscopy, nuclear medicine, ophthalmology and treatment of spinal cord injury and diseases. The MEDVAMC is home to a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinic; a Network Polytrauma Center; an award-winning Cardiac and General Surgery Program; a Liver Transplant Center; and one of the VA’s six Parkinson’s disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers,. Including the outpatient clinics in Beaumont, Conroe, Lufkin, Galveston and Texas City, MEDVAMC outpatient clinics logged nearly 900,000 outpatient visits in fiscal year 2008. For more information, call 713-791-1414 or visit www.houston.va.gov.

— The University of Texas – Harris County Psychiatric Center (HCPC)
The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center (UTHCPC), an operating unit of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, delivers a comprehensive program of psychiatric services to children, adolescents and adults suffering from mental illness.

The hospital offers inpatient, outpatient and intensive outpatient care, having more than 6,000 inpatient admissions and 11,000 outpatient visits annually. Patients are treated by a highly qualified, multidisciplinary staff – composed of psychiatric physicians, non-psychiatric physicians (including consultants, internists and others), psychiatric residents, psychologists, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, pharmacists, dietitians and chaplains – that provides patients with individualized care.

The hospital serves persons suffering from depression, major depression or bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other severe behavioral or mental health disorders. Patients are admitted to the hospital through various routes. Voluntarily-admitted patients are referred by their health insurance provider, private physician or other hospitals. They can also be referred by the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County. Involuntarily-admitted patients are committed through the probate court system, after being referred for treatment by family members, healthcare providers or others

The hospital serves patients referred from the Harris County Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority, as well as those with insurance referred by private physicians, other hospitals or care providers. HCPC physicians are also faculty members of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. For information, call 713-741-5000 or visit http://hcpc.uth.tmc.edu.

— Harris County Hospital District (HCHD)
The Harris County Hospital District (HCHD) is the public health care system for the nation’s third most populous county. In provides quality health care for more than 1 million patient visits each year to residents of Harris County. It opened Ben Taub General Hospital, Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, Quentin Mease Community Hospital, 13 community health centers, eight school-based clinics, 13 homeless shelter clinics and five mobile health units.

Ben Taub Hospital has garnered the respect of the world as an elite Level 1 Trauma Center, one of the only two in the Harris County area. This 650 licensed-bed acute care facility is one of the nation’s busiest trauma centers, caring for over 108,000 emergency patients each year. Located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, Ben Taub’s Department of Medicine provides patients a comprehensive program of care with subspecialties for major areas such as endocrinology, cardiology, oncology, pulmonary, renal and gastroenterology. The Ben Taub Emergency Center is the source of 80 percent of all admissions to the hospital, which provides patients with access to more than 40 medical specialties. Ben Taub has more than 26,000 adult and pediatric admissions and more than 184,000 specialty clinic visits. For information, call 713-566-6400 or visit www.hchdonline.com.

Other TMC Institutions