The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288.
Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrated in a triangular area between Brays Bayou, Rice University, and Hermann Park, are members of the Texas Medical Center Corporation—a non-profit umbrella organization—which constitutes the largest medical center and life science destination in the world. As the world's largest medical center, it's also nicknamed as the "Medical Mini-City".[1] The TMC has the world's highest density of clinical facilities for patient care, basic biomedical sciences, and translational research.[2][3][4] The neighborhood is 2.1-square-mile (5.4 km2).[2]
The Texas Medical Center employs over 106,000 people, hosts 10 million patient encounters annually, and has a gross domestic product of US$25 billion.[2] Over the decades, the TMC has expanded south of Brays Bayou toward NRG Park, and the organization has developed ambitious plans for a new "innovation campus" south of the river.[5] The 4.93-square-mile (12.8 km2) Medical Center / Astrodome area, highly populated with medical workers, is home to over 20,000 people.[6][7]
The TMC is served by the METRORail Red Line, a north-south light rail route which connects the district to Downtown Houston and NRG Park.
The Texas Medical Center contains 54 medicine-related institutions, with 21 hospitals and eight specialty institutions, eight academic and research institutions, four medical schools, seven nursing schools, three public health organizations, two pharmacy schools and a dental school.[8] All 54 institutions are not-for-profit. Among the affiliated medical schools are the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Texas A&M College of Medicine. Some member institutions are located outside the city of Houston.
In 2016, more heart surgeries were performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world with 13,600 heart surgeries annually. 180,000 annual surgeries were performed. The TMC performed one surgery every three minutes. Over 25,000 babies were delivered each year, more than one baby every 20 minutes. The Texas Medical Center offered over 9,200 total patient beds.[9]
The Center receives an average of 3,300 patient visits a day, and over eight million annual patient visits, including over 18,000 international patients. The TMC has over 750,000 ER visitors each year. In 2011, the center employed over 106,000 people, including 20,000 physicians, scientists, researchers and other advanced degree professionals in the life sciences.[10] The TMC has over 160,000 visitors each day.
The Texas Medical Center houses the world's largest children's hospital (Texas Children's Hospital), as well as the world's largest cancer hospital (MD Anderson Cancer Center).
The Texas Medical Center was established in 1945, in part by funds endowed to the M.D. Anderson Foundation by businessman Monroe Dunaway Anderson.[11] The fund's first gift was a check of $1,000 to the Junior League Eye Fund for eyeglasses. In 1941, the Texas State Legislature granted funds to the University of Texas for the purpose of starting a cancer research hospital. The M.D. Anderson Foundation matched the state's gift to the university by supplying funds and land on the condition that the hospital be established in Houston and named after its founder.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the purchase of 118 acres (0.48 km2) from the estate of local entrepreneur George Hermann (namesake of Hermann Park) in 1944 for the construction of a 1,000-bed naval hospital in Houston. The hospital, later renamed the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, opened in 1946 and became a teaching facility for Baylor College of Medicine. In 1946, several projects were approved for inclusion in the Texas Medical Center including:
M.D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research of the University of Texas began construction in 1953. Texas Children's Hospital admitted its first patient in 1954.
During the late 1950s, the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research opened. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston added the Gimbel Research Wing. Texas Woman's University Nursing Program began instruction.
In 1962, the Texas Heart Institute was chartered and became affiliated with Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center (known then as St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital) and Texas Children's Hospital. Ben Taub General Hospital of the Harris Health System (known then as Harris County Hospital District) opened in 1963.
The TMC Library provides access to thousands of current digital books and journals and its John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center houses rare medical books dating back to the 1500s, historical manuscripts such as the McGovern Collection on the History of Medicine, the Menninger Collection of Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, and the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission which recorded the aftereffects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In 1993, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center began a $248.6-million expansion project which constructed an inpatient pavilion with 512 beds, two research buildings, an outpatient clinic building, a faculty office building, and a patient-family hotel. From 2005 to present, the George and Cynthia Mitchell Basic Sciences Research Building, the Ambulatory Clinical Building, the Cancer Prevention Center and a new research building on the South Campus opened. The Proton Therapy Center, the largest facility in the United States where proton therapy is used to treat cancer, opened in July 2006.[12]
In 2001, the Texas Medical Center was devastated by Tropical Storm Allison, which flooded basements and the first floors with 18 inches of water.[13] This resulted in retrofitting of storm doors and barriers to prevent future flooding.
The Memorial Hermann Healthcare System constructed the six-floor, 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute. Also recently completed around 2006 was the 30-story Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza, which is now the largest medical office building in the Texas Medical Center. At night, it became recognizable by its unique rainbow lantern.[14] The construction was part of the system's citywide "Century Project" initiative.
In 2005, Baylor College of Medicine opened the Baylor Clinic.
The Texas Children's Hospital announced the largest investment and program expansion ever by a single pediatric organization. The $1.5 billion, four-year initiative was targeted for completion in 2010 and focused on research and accessibility. Major projects included the development of the neurological research institute ($215 million), the formation of a maternity center ($575 million), and the expansion of existing research facilities ($120 million). Texas Children's was undertaking the development of one of the largest pediatric hospitals in a suburban setting ($220 million). The remainder of the expenditures were earmarked for new equipment and information systems.[15]
In 2010, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, including the John Sealy Hospital, became the 49th member of the Texas Medical Center and the first member-institution located outside the City of Houston.[16][17][18]
Texas Medical Center–West Campus, serving residents of greater west Houston and adjacent areas, opened in January, 2011. Representing an initial investment of more than half a billion dollars, and almost 1.2 million square feet of healthcare development, the first two facilities to open in the new campus were the Texas Children’s Hospital and The Houston Methodist West Hospital. Texas Children’s West Campus is among the nation’s largest suburban pediatric hospitals.[19]
In 2012, Texas Medical Center added the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, which treats pediatric trauma burns, as its 50th member institution.[20]
In 2016, Texas Medical Center added San José Clinic, the community's leading charity care clinic, as a member institution. Denise Castillo-Rhodes, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Texas Medical Center, as well as a volunteer for San José Clinic noted when it became a member of TMC: "San José Clinic serves a very important role in our community. Thus, it is a natural next step for the Clinic to join the Texas Medical Center as its newest member, as it continues to grow and provide extraordinary healthcare and education at affordable prices.".[21]
In 2020, Texas A&M announced plans to build a $550 million complex on the southern side of the TMC including academic, medical office, and housing buildings.[22]
On June 24, 2020, The Texas Medical Center released data showing a 97% capacity in its ICU facilities due to the Covid-19 crisis.[23] The Texas Medical Center has been a forefront of helping COVID-19 victims in Houston during the pandemic.
The Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston is the largest medical complex in the world, comprising 21 hospitals, 8 specialty institutions, 8 academic and research institutions, 4 medical schools, 3 nursing schools, 2 pharmacy schools, and 1 dental school. Additionally, The Texas Medical Center (TMC) hosts over 400 biotech and healthcare startups, alongside numerous major pharmaceutical companies, making it a leading hub for medical innovation.[24]
1. Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center2. Ben Taub General Hospital3. Houston Methodist Hospital4. John Sealy Hospital5. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center6. Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital7. Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center8. Rebecca Sealy Hospital9. Shriner's Hospital for Children — Galveston10. Shriners Hospitals for Children — Houston11. Texas Children's Hospital12. TIRR Memorial Hermann13. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center14. St. Dominic Village 15. San Jose Clinic 16. Houston Hospice 17. Harris Health System18. The Menninger Clinic19. Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital20. Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital21. Houston Methodist West Hospital
1. Texas Heart Institute2. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center3. TIRR Memorial Hermann4. Texas Children's Cancer Center5. Texas Children's Hospital6. Shriners Hospitals for Children7. The Menninger Clinic8. DePelchin Children's Center
1. Baylor College of Medicine2. Rice University - BioScience Research Collaborative3. Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology4. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston5. University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center6. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston7. Texas Woman's University Institute of Health Sciences 8. Houston Methodist Research Institute
1. Baylor College of Medicine2. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth 3. Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine4. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
1. Prairie View A&M College of Nursing2. Texas Woman's University College of Nursing3. Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth 4. Houston Community College
1. University of Houston College of Pharmacy2. Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
1. UTHealth School of Dentistry
The Texas Medical Center is a dense agglomeration of hospitals, schools, and ancillary businesses clustered on a triangular piece of land bordered by Rice University and the neighborhood of Southampton to the west, Brays Bayou to the south and east, and Hermann Park to the north. With 106,000 employees, the TMC has an employment density of approximately 50,475 per square mile (19,489/km2). The Texas Medical Center Corporation has compared its dense cityscape to the Chicago Loop and Lower Manhattan.[25]
The core of the TMC is serviced by three large arterial roads. Main and Fannin streets run southwest to northeast, while Holcombe Boulevard runs west to east. The Texas Medical Center is one of the few employment centers in Houston which is not directly serviced by a freeway; the nearest freeway is
