In 1903, the hospital opened as Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium in a 14-room renovated house with 25 beds. It received its charter from the state government in October 1903 and had financial support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The nursing school was established in 1918. The hospital was renamed Baylor Hospital in 1921 and then Baylor University Hospital in 1936 to emphasize its relationship with the Baptist-affiliated Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The Baylor College of Medicine, College of Dentistry and School of Pharmacy were co-located with the hospital. The Florence Nightingale Maternity Hospital opened in 1937 on the same grounds. Financial difficulties due to the ongoing World War II forced the College of Medicine to move to Houston. The hospital faced an uncertain future since it no longer had the support of an affiliated medical school and its buildings were in need of renovation. Some of the doctors at the hospital who were also professors at the College of Medicine chose to stay with the hospital instead of moving to Houston. The 1950s signaled a milestone in the development of the hospital. With the construction of the seven-story, 436-bed George W. Truett Memorial Hospital in 1950, Baylor became the fifth-largest general hospital in the country. In 1959, Florence Nightingale Maternity Hospital was replaced with a newly expanded Women's and Children's Hospital, later renamed Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Memorial Hospital. At this point "medical center" was accordingly added to the hospital name. The Baylor Healthcare System was established in 1981 and BUMC became its flagship hospital. The center has a distinguished orthopedic program. Baylor University Medical Center was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's top 50 hospitals for orthopedic care in its 2014–15 rankings. In addition, the hospital is a Blue Cross Blue Shield Distinction Center for spine surgery and hip and knee replacements and has received Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for nursing excellence.
The hospital is ranked nationally in seven adult specialties. It was also high-performing in five adult specialties. Baylor University Medical Center is a 933-bed general medical and surgical facility. It is a teaching hospital and admitted 37,580 patients in the most recent year reported. It performed 13,405 annual inpatient and 7,592 outpatient surgeries. Its emergency department had 106,586 visits. Despite its name, it is no longer affiliated with Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
