About us
At the VA Houston Healthcare System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families every day.
About VA Houston Healthcare System
The VA Houston Healthcare System provides you with outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.
Health care and services
We provide you with health care services at 13 locations in southeast Texas. Facilities include our Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston and 12 community-based outpatient clinics in Beaumont, Conroe, Galveston, Houston, Humble, Katy, Lake Jackson, Lufkin, Richmond, Sugar Land, Texas City, and Tomball. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA Houston health services page.
The VA Houston Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the South Central VA Health Care Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 16 (VISN 16), which includes medical centers and clinics in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, southeast Texas, and northwest Florida.
Research and development
We conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all. We currently have 615 active research projects involving biomedicine, clinical trials, rehabilitation, and health services.
Major research areas include:
- Gene therapy
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Our research and development program includes four components:
- Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development
- Clinical Science Research and Development
- Rehabilitation Research and Development
- Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D)
Teaching and learning
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.
We offer residency training with 269.7 slots in 40 major medical specialties and subspecialties. We also train physician assistants and nurses and provide associated training in other health professions, including dietetics, social work, and physical therapy.
We maintain 144 affiliation agreements with institutions in 19 states, including our major affiliate, Baylor College of Medicine. We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA.
Fast facts
- Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center is on a 119-acre campus that features 350 acute care beds.
- We are the primary health care provider for more than 131,000 Veterans.
- Our main medical center and 12 outpatient clinics log more than 2 million outpatient visits per year.
- Our resources include a 40-bed spinal cord injury center and a community living center with 141 beds.
- To accommodate our growing populations of women Veterans we operate a full-service breast imaging center with the latest 3D technology, image-guided biopsies and same-day biopsies and results. We have also recently hired specialists in Women’s Reproductive Health and are coordinating care for hundreds of pregnant women Veterans.
- Our top-notch transplant team performs kidney, liver and heart transplants.
Accreditation and achievements
Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from:
- The Joint Commission
- American Nurses Credentialing Center
- College of American Pathologists
- Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission
- American Psychological Association
The VA Houston Healthcare System received the following awards:
- Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing
- CARF 3-year accreditations for Health Care for Homeless Veterans and Vocational Rehabilitation Programs; Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehabilitation Program; the Visual Impairment Services Outpatient Rehabilitation (VISOR) Program; and Inpatient and Outpatient Amputee System of Care Program.
Compare our performance with non-VA facilities
Find out how the VA Houston Healthcare System compares to non-VA health care facilities in your area and nationwide. Compare our quality of health care to regional and national averages at non-VA health care facilities. Learn about VA appointment wait times and Veteran satisfaction at VA facilities.