that's pretty hard for me to believe, but then again, Houston is huge.
EDIT:
wow. I stand corrected. largest medical complex in the world.
Houston is unequivocally the best place to be sick. The city's renowned Texas Medical Center – the largest in the world – treats more than 4.8 million patients annually and employs more than 61,000 Houstonians within its 21 million-square-foot campus.
The Texas Medical Center, with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research of any location, is the largest medical district in the world. [1] The center is located in Houston, Texas, USA. The center contains 45 medicine-related institutions, which include 13 hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and other health-related careers.
The Texas Medical Center receives over 5 million annual patient visits including over 10 thousand international patients. In 2006, the center employed over 73,500 people, including 4,000 physicians and 11,000 registered nurses. [3]
If Cortex ever really takes off we should have quite a district, especially if you include the nearby SLU med facilities.
I think it could happen if Cortex, St. Louis University Medical Center and Washington University ever meet. It probably won't happen for about 25-30 years though. Nonetheless, WUMC is no chump in terms of size. It is really larger than the average major medical center. I would say it's probably larger than Cleveland Clinic or Mayo.
With regard to the Texas Medical Center, it has most of Houston's major hospitals, all of the various local schools of nursing (except Houston Baptist University School of Nursing), medicine, and one school of pharmacy. It has many, many medical institutions, labs and educational institutions, plus several hotels for visitors.
Imagine the campuses of WUMC, St. Louis University Medical Center, St. John's Mercy Medical, Veterans, St. Luke's, DePaul, St. Louis Regional, Shriners, plus all of the local nursing schools, several hotels etc. etc. all in one central location. This is what you have in Houston. While there are other hospitals throughout the region, the biggest and best hospitals are located in the Texas Medical Center, and as a result it becomes a magnet for other medical offices and medical personnel. The domino effect then leads to more medical office towers, support services etc.
Hopefully, BJC's $1-billion expansion will add some heft to the medical center.
Today's Business Journal wrote:Shriners Hospital for Children is moving forward with plans to build its new $150 million hospital within the BJC HealthCare complex in the Central West End.
After a year-long search process, Shriners Hospital is in the final stages of negotiations to purchase a nearly 6-acre property at 4400 Clayton Road, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. Upon completion of the new hospital, Shriners plans to close its hospital in Frontenac, where it has been based for nearly a half century.
Shriners reaches agreement to buy Washington U. property
St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown
Shriners Hospital for Children-St. Louis has signed an agreement with Washington University to buy six acres of land to build a replacement hospital in the city of St. Louis.
James Full, executive vice president of Tampa, Fla.-based Shriners Hospitals for Children, said construction of the new hospital at 4400 Clayton Avenue, between Taylor and Newstead avenues, could begin by the end of the year and take three years. Shriners Hospitals has hired architectural firm Gresham Smith & Partners to design the new facility.
"We know it will be a multilevel facility with one floor for research," Full said. "It will have less beds but more operating rooms." Shriners Hospital-St. Louis, currently located on 14.8 acres at 2001 S. Lindbergh Blvd., has 80 beds. That property will be sold once construction of the new facility is completed. Shriners is buying the property on Clayton Avenue from Washington University for an undisclosed amount. The Business Journal reported in its Dec. 28 issue that final negotiations were under way. Full would not estimate how much the new facility could cost but said it would be less than $150 million.
Larry Shapiro, dean of Washington University School of Medicine, said moving the hospital closer to the medical school and St. Louis Children's Hospital will benefit patients by allowing easier access to specialists at both facilities.
JUst as an FYI, the official groundbreaking will be late june/early july and will coincide with the Shriners Imperial Session (National Convention) which is being held here in downtown St. Louis this year.
