HEALTH CARE

Welcome to the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center

The Michael E. DeBakey VA & Medical Center (MEDVAMC) serves as primary health care provider for more than 137,000 veterans in Southeast Texas. In fiscal year 2004, there were 598,572 outpatient visits at the Houston facility, 59,516 outpatient visits at the Beaumont Outpatient Clinic, and 45,155 outpatient visits at the Lufkin Outpatient Clinic. During the same period, 11,111 veterans were admitted as inpatients and 235 were admitted to the Transitional Care Center. Veterans from around the country are referred to the MEDVAMC for specialized diagnostic care, radiation therapy, surgery, and medical treatment including cardiovascular surgery, gastrointestinal endoscope, ophthalmology, nuclear medicine, and treatment of spinal cord injury and diseases. The MEDVAMC is home to a Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center; a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinic; an award-winning Cardiac Surgery Program; one of the VA's six Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Centers; and the Houston Center for Quality of Care & Utilization Studies. Many MEDVAMC programs have received national awards and honors including Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services, accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for hospital, long-term care, behavioral health care, substance abuse, and home care programs, and three-year Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditations for the Rehabilitation Care Line's Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehabilitation Program, the Spinal Cord Injury Program, the Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program, and the Compensated Work Therapy Program.

Teaching Hospital

Nearly 3,500 health care professionals provide high-quality care to our veterans. The MEDVAMC staff is widely recognized for the education of health care workers. For more than 50 years, the MEDVAMC has provided clinical training for health care professionals through affiliations with the Baylor College of Medicine and 85 other educational and research institutions. Hundreds of health care students from fields such as nursing, dietetics, social work, physical therapy, and a wide variety of medical specialties receive training here each year. This responsibility serves to enhance the quality of care provided to our veterans. As a member institution of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) since 1985, the MEDVAMC staff serves on various TMC oversight committees that contribute to improved patient care and hospital operations. The vast majority of MEDVAMC physicians are also faculty members of Baylor College of Medicine.

Internship and Fellowship Programs

Dietetic Internship Program

First Year Postgraduate (PGY1) Pharmacy Practice Residency

Medical Logistics Internship for commissioned and non-commissioned Army personnel and Department of Defense (DoD) civilians

Psychology Internship and Postdoctoral Fellowship

Accreditation

The MEDVAMC is fully accredited by JCAHO, CARF, the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, American College of Radiology, URAC, American Dental Association, American Psychological Association Office of Accreditation, American Dietetic Association, as well as several other external review organizations.

Modern Facility

Located on a 118-acre campus and built in 1991, MEDVAMC is a state-of-the-art facility with 319 hospital beds, a 40-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, and a 120-bed transitional care unit for long-term care. An automated, computer-controlled transport system delivers food, laundry, and supplies throughout the building. The six-story granite building is designed with four exterior sections and four atriums that contain patio gardens, wheelchair basketball courts, and a rehabilitation pool. The MEDVAMC is currently renovating and upgrading all patient rooms for a more comfortable and home-like environment. This $1.8 million dollar project will replace tables, chairs, privacy curtains, draperies, light fixtures, clocks, wallpaper, countertops, and wall decorations, plus it will install ceiling lifts for patients in all rooms in the long-term care and spinal cord injury units at a cost of $500,000.

Quality of Care

Research & Development

Supported with more than $26 million annually, research conducted by MEDVAMC staff ensures veterans access to cutting-edge medical and health care technology. The MEDVAMC Research & Development (R&D) Program is an integral part of the medical center's mission and plays a very important role in the health care veterans receive. The production of new knowledge, techniques, and products has led to improved prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and control of disease. The MEDVAMC R&D Program includes four components: Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development, Clinical Science Research and Development, Rehabilitation Research and Development, and Health Services Research and Development. Collectively, these services support research covering biomedicine, clinical trials, rehabilitation, and health services. Today, VA is a leader in many areas of research. Some of the recent achievements and initiatives include a new antibiotic that improves treatment of diabetic foot infections, Vitamin D and cereal fiber that reduce colorectal cancer risk, combination therapy for schizophrenia, 'BION' (Bionic Neuron) microchips that may one day help patients regain muscular control, kidney medication that is just as effective by injection, and synthetic estrogen that may reverse bone loss.

MANAGEMENT

Mr. Edgar L. Tucker
Director

Dr. Thomas Horvath
Chief of Staff

Adam C. Walmus Associate Director

Deloris W. Leftridge
Chief Nurse Executive

History

The MEDVAMC began its life in the waning days of World War II. On April 26, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the acquisition of a 118-acre site on the corner of Old Spanish Trail and Almeda to be used as a 500-bed naval hospital. The site, south of downtown Houston, was actually purchased from the Hermann Estate by 353 Houston citizens and donated to the federal government. On June 1, 1945, President Harry S. Truman designated the hospital as a permanent naval hospital. Commissioning ceremonies were held on September 4, 1946 to place the hospital into active operation. On April 15, 1949, the facility was transferred to the Veterans Administration and renamed the United States Veterans Administration Hospital. Designated as a teaching hospital and affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine, the hospital accepted 22 residents in its training and education programs in its first year. The father of modern cardiovascular surgery, Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. , head of Baylor's department of surgery, a member of the Veteran Administration's Dean's Committee, and a driving force behind today's MEDVAMC's position in the medical community, said at the time, "The affiliation of the Veterans Administration Hospital and Baylor University College of Medicine has served a double purpose: To give veterans the highest standard of medical care and to enable Baylor to give training in some departments available nowhere else in the South." Dr. DeBakey helped to establish the system of treating military personnel returning from the war, a concept that evolved into the Veterans Health Administration system. As Colonel Michael DeBakey, he served on the Surgeon General's Staff during World War II, earned the U.S. Army Legion of Merit Award, and conducted studies that led to the development of mobile army surgical hospitals or MASH units. In 1983, the U.S. Congress approved the construction of a new $246 million replacement MEDVAMC facility. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in 1986. In mid-1991, MEDVAMC opened the doors of a new state-of-the-art facility located on the same 118-acre site, and the old hospital was demolished. In recognition of Dr. DeBakey's tireless efforts on behalf of our Nation's veterans, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 108-170 on December 6, 2003 officially changing the name of the facility to the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.