Houston Methodist Hospital is the flagship quaternary care hospital of Houston Methodist academic medical center. Located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, Houston Methodist Hospital was established in 1919 during the height of the Spanish influenza epidemic as an outreach ministry of Methodist Episcopal Church. Houston Methodist comprises eight hospitals, an academic institute, a primary care group, and more than 300 locations throughout greater Houston. The hospital has consistently ranked as "One of America's Best Hospitals" according to U.S. News & World Report. The hospital has earned worldwide recognition in multiple specialties including cardiovascular surgery, cancer, epilepsy treatment and organ transplantation. Houston Methodist System changed its official name to Houston Methodist in 2013. History Originally located near downtown Houston, after a $1 million donation from Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen, the hospital relocated to the Texas Medical Center and opened a 300-bed facility in 1951. Michael DeBakey Heart surgeon Michael E. DeBakey (1908–2008), a faculty member and later Chancellor Emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine, performed the first removal of a carotid artery blockage (1950); the first aorto-coronary bypass surgery (1964); the first use of a ventricular assist device to pump blood and support a diseased heart (1966); and some of the first U.S. heart transplants (1968 and 1969) at the hospital. DeBakey also created the first Dacron graft (1953). Flooding and storms 1976 flood In 1976, unusually heavy rains caused more than $20 million in flood-related damage in the Texas Medical Center, knocking out power at three hospitals. Six feet of water filled Methodist's basement. Tropical Storm Allison On June 8, 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dropped up to 37 inches of rain on parts of Houston, causing the worst flooding in the city's history up until that time, with serious damage to the Texas Medical Center. About 40 feet of water filled Methodist Hospital's basement and entered the neurosensory building. The hospital discharged 400 patients and did not fully reopen until five weeks after the storm. The flooding caused an estimated $360 million in damage. Expansion Consisting of the existing Texas Medical Center facility and several newly constructed regional hospitals, Houston Methodist was established in 1996 to extend health services beyond the Texas Medical Center and into communities throughout Houston. Research Houston Methodist, the University of Houston, and Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University jointly founded the Institute for Biomedical Imaging Science. The institute will create