Texas Medical Center

The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is located just south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288.

With over 60 medical institutions, TMC is the world's largest medical center and life science destination. It is often called the "Medical Mini-City" because of its huge size and importance. These institutions focus on patient care, biomedical sciences, and research to find new ways to improve health.

The TMC employs more than 106,000 people and sees 10 million patients each year. It also helps create a lot of jobs and money, adding about US$25 billion to the local economy. The area continues to grow, with plans for new buildings and research spaces.

People can easily reach the TMC using the METRORail Red Line, a light rail that connects it to Downtown Houston and NRG Park. This makes it simple for patients and workers to travel around the city.

Overview

Main article: List of Texas Medical Center institutions

The Texas Medical Center has 54 medical institutions, including 21 hospitals, 8 specialty centers, and 4 medical schools. These institutions work together to help people stay healthy. In 2016, the center performed many important surgeries, including over 13,600 heart surgeries each year. They also helped deliver more than 25,000 babies yearly.

The Texas Medical Center is home to very special places, like the world's largest children's hospital, Texas Children's Hospital, and the world's largest cancer hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Every day, thousands of people visit for care and support.

History

Founding and early years

The Texas Medical Center was started in 1945, thanks to money from the M.D. Anderson Foundation, set up by businessman Monroe Dunaway Anderson. The foundation’s first gift was $1,000 to help buy glasses for children through the Junior League Eye Fund. In 1941, the Texas State Legislature gave money to the University of Texas to start a hospital for cancer research. The M.D. Anderson Foundation added more money and land, asking only that the hospital be in Houston and named after Anderson.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved buying land from George Hermann for a big hospital for veterans. This hospital opened in 1946 and became a place where doctors could learn at Baylor College of Medicine. More hospitals and research centers joined over the next years, such as Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. Construction began on the M.D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research in 1953, and Texas Children's Hospital opened its doors in 1954.

Recent developments

In 1993, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center started a big building project worth $248.6 million. This included new places for patients to stay, research labs, clinics, and offices. In 2006, a large center for treating cancer with proton therapy opened.

In 2001, heavy rains from Tropical Storm Allison caused flooding in parts of the Texas Medical Center. After that, they built better protections to keep water out.

New buildings kept rising over the years. In 2005, Baylor College of Medicine opened a new clinic. Texas Children’s Hospital planned big projects like a center for studying the brain and a place for babies, with work finishing around 2010.

In 2010, a hospital from Galveston joined the Texas Medical Center. In 2011, a new medical campus opened far from Houston to serve more families.

More hospitals joined, including one in Galveston that helps children with serious burns, and a clinic that offers low-cost care to people in need.

In 2020, Texas A&M planned a huge new building for learning and medicine. During the same year, the Texas Medical Center helped many people during the COVID-19 crisis when hospitals were very busy.

Member Institutions

The Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston is the largest medical complex in the world. It includes 21 hospitals, 8 specialty institutions, 8 academic and research institutions, 4 medical schools, 3 nursing schools, 2 pharmacy schools, and 1 dental school. The TMC also supports over 400 biotech and healthcare startups, along with many major pharmaceutical companies, making it a top place for medical innovation.

Hospitals

1. Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center
2. Ben Taub General Hospital
3. Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital
4. Harris Health System
5. Houston Hospice
6. Houston Methodist Hospital
7. Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital
8. Houston Methodist West Hospital
9. John Sealy Hospital
10. Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital
11. Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center
12. Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center
13. Rebecca Sealy Hospital
14. St. Dominic Village
15. San Jose Clinic

Specialty institutions not listed above

1. DePelchin Children's Center
2. Institute for Spirituality and Health
3. Shriners Hospitals for Children
4. Texas Children's Hospital (including Texas Children's Cancer Center)
5. Texas Heart Institute
6. The Menninger Clinic
7. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
8. TIRR Memorial Hermann

Academic and research institutions

1. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
2. Institute of Biosciences and Technology (Texas A&M Health Science Center)
3. BioScience Research Collaborative (Rice University)
4. MD Anderson Cancer Center (University of Texas)
5. Institute of Health Sciences (Texas Woman's University)
6. Houston Methodist Research Institute

Medical schools

1. Baylor College of Medicine
2. McGovern Medical School
3. Texas A&M School of Medicine
4. University of Houston College of Medicine
5. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Nursing schools

1. Prairie View A&M College of Nursing
2. Texas Woman's University College of Nursing
3. Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing
4. Coleman College for Health Sciences

Pharmacy schools

1. University of Houston College of Pharmacy
2. Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Dental school

1. UTHealth School of Dentistry

Cityscape and infrastructure

The Texas Medical Center is a busy area filled with hospitals, schools, and shops. It sits on a triangular piece of land next to Rice University, Brays Bayou, and Hermann Park. Many people work here, with about 106,000 jobs in a small space.

Big roads help connect the area, and special trains make it easy to get around. Even though there isn’t a nearby highway, many buses and trains stop here, making it a popular spot for travelers. As more buildings go up, planners are working to keep traffic moving smoothly.

The Texas Medical Center has important buildings like a post office and a library. There is also a fire station nearby to keep everyone safe. The area is part of the Houston Police Department’s South Central Patrol Division.

In the past, there were special apartments for workers, but they closed in 2012. Children who lived there went to schools in the Houston Independent School District.

Orchestra

The Texas Medical Center Orchestra began in November 2000. It is special because it was started by health professionals like doctors, nurses, and scientists. The orchestra’s goal is to let these professionals express themselves through beautiful music. They play concerts that anyone can attend and support charities that help with health and education.

The orchestra works closely with a school called KIPP SHARP in Houston. They teach the students about the music they play and invite the students to show their art and writing at concerts. The students are also welcome to attend the concerts with their families. The orchestra has also helped support important causes, like working with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for bike rides that raise money.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the orchestra took part in a big music video for a song called “I’m Standing With You.” Many artists from around the world joined in to help raise money for fighting the pandemic.

Demographics

The Texas Medical Center is a special area in Houston called the Medical Center Super Neighborhood. In 2015, about 2,700 people lived there. Most of them, or 52%, were from one group, while 16% each were from two other groups, 12% were from another group, and 4% were from yet another group. In the year 2000, there were about 2,400 people living there, with slightly different group percentages.

Education

The main Texas Medical Center area is part of the Houston Independent School District. There is a private school called Melinda Webb School for deaf children aged from infants to 7 years old. This school helps children who are not yet ready to join regular classrooms and also offers speech and therapy services.

There was also a school called Medical Center Charter School that opened in 1996 for workers in the Medical Center. It used a special teaching method called Montessori for early grades and focused on foreign languages. However, this school closed in 2018 because it was not meeting performance goals.

Religion

See also: Religion in Houston

Near the Texas Medical Center, there are many places where people can worship. Christian churches include City Life Church, Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, St. Mathew's Lutheran church, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, which belongs to the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese. These churches started a program called Church Apartment Ministry to help families visiting patients in the hospital by providing apartment spaces.

There is also a Jewish worship place called Medical Center Chabad House, which runs a program named Aishel House. Additionally, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) has a prayer area called the Al-Ma'adah Musalla for people to use when they are at the Medical Center.

Parks and recreation

The Weekley Family YMCA is located in the area. It started in 1951 as the Southwest YMCA in West University Place. The current building in Braeswood Place, Houston, began construction in 2001.

In 2023, Helix Park opened as part of the Texas Medical Center. It has six parks shaped like a double-helix and includes a building for events and gatherings. The park offers a place for people to connect and relax in the middle of the life science center.