Texas Medical Center history

The Texas Medical Center was established in 1945, in part by funds endowed to the M.D. Anderson Foundation by businessman Monroe Dunaway Anderson.

The said hospital was opened in 1946, and it was named Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The first building to open on the 134-acres of the Texas Medical Center proper was that of Baylor University College of Medicine in 1947.

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.

At the same time, the Ben Taub General Hospital of the Harris Health System was established in 1963.

In 1976, Red Duke founded Hermann Hospital's Life Flight, the first private hospital air ambulance service in Texas.

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.

In 2001, the Texas Medical Center was devastated by Tropical Storm Allison, which flooded basements and the first floors with 18 inches of water.

In 2005, Baylor College of Medicine opened the Baylor Clinic.

The Proton Therapy Center, the largest facility in the United States where proton therapy is used to treat cancer, opened in July 2006.

The $1.5 billion, four-year initiative was targeted for completion in 2010 and focused on research and accessibility.

Texas Medical Center–West Campus, serving residents of greater west Houston and adjacent areas, opened in January, 2011.

In 2016, Texas Medical Center performed more heart surgeries than anywhere else in the world, with a whopping 180,000 annual surgeries.

On June 24, 2020, The Texas Medical Center released data showing a 97% capacity in its ICU facilities due to the Covid-19 crisis.