HEALTH

Health PhotoHouston is known internationally as the home of one of the best medical communities in the world. That's not surprising since the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest medical center in the world, is just 10 minutes from downtown Houston.

TMC is housed on 675 acres, and is home to 42 nonprofit and government institutions, including 13 teaching hospitals, two medical schools, four colleges of nursing, a dental college, a college of pharmacy and a college of optometry. Altogether 4.8 million patients visit them each year.

In fact, there are more than 85 hospitals in the Houston area with more than 19,300 beds, including those in TMC. These facilities employ more than 100,000 health care professionals, almost 7 percent of the Houston-area workforce.

In addition to TMC, Houstonians have access to high-quality health care throughout the City. The Harris County Hospital District provides access to quality health care for all residents of Harris County, regardless of their ability to pay. The district is made up of three hospitals, 12 community health centers, a dental center, an AIDS clinic and several school-based clinics. Among these are Ben Taub General Hospital, Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital and Quentin Mease Community Hospital.

Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services provides public health care services that include nursing, communicable and environmental disease control, dental health, health education, nutrition, sanitation, mosquito control and animal control programs.  The goal is prevention of disease and maintenance of health standards in the county.  Personal preventive services are aimed primarily at the indigent and working poor to reduce unnecessary morbidity and mortality in that segment of the population.  The director is appointed by Commissioners Court.

The City of Houston has health and dental centers that service Houston-area citizens. They also operate Multi-Service Centers that house a variety of agencies and organizations to provide services to Houstonians, including health care. To find maps to these locations, go to the Department of Health and Human Services.