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17 T M C » P U L S E | J U N E 2 0 1 8 O ne day in 1960, during a trip to Dallas for the dedication of the Fondren Health Center at Southern Methodist University, prominent Houston philanthropist Ella Fondren fell and fractured her hip. She was flown to Houston Methodist for surgery and spent the next six months in the hospital recovering. Perched in Room 807, which she later pro- claimed her "favorite room," Fondren often looked out the window, but not to gaze up at the stars or contemplate what lay beyond the horizon. Instead, she began to study an undeveloped parcel of land north of the hospital that she could see from her bed. Soon, she became consumed by an idea. "We've got to build something on that property over there, and right away," she said, repeatedly, to Ted Bowen, the hospital's president. Chief of orthopedic service, Joe King, M.D., and world-renowned cardiac sur- geon Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., proposed an expan- sion to house orthopedic and cardiovascular research. Fondren and partnering foundations agreed and launched a $9 million campaign to develop the Fondren-Brown Cardiovascular and Orthopedic Research Center. On Oct. 27, 1964, Ella Fondren and George R. Brown plunged their ceremonial silver- polished shovels into the parcel of land Fondren had admired from her hospital room. This was the beginning of a new era in Houston Methodist's history. The red line In April 1968, the Fondren-Brown Cardiovascular and Orthopedic Research Center began opening in stages. The center con- sisted of two adjoining structures: The Ella F. Fondren Building and the Herman Brown Building. The six-story Fondren Building occupied 165,000 square feet devoted to orthopedic and car- diovascular research, including 50 beds for teaching and research. The neighboring five- story Brown Building consisted of 108,000 square feet and housed clinical and laboratory areas for cardiovascular conditions. Over the next decade, additional floors were added to the buildings to accommodate more research facilities, cardiovas- cular inpatient care and medical services. But the center's pièce de résistance? Eight specialty operating rooms and a cardiac intensive care unit. "To be able to do the surgeries that we were doing at that time was a real thrill. We were right on the cutting edge of the whole development of cardiovascular surgery," said George Noon, M.D., DeBakey's surgical partner of more than 40 years. "When I finished my residency and joined the fac- ulty, we were doing more procedures than anyone else in the world." The cardiac ICU was staffed with nurses spe- cially trained by the surgeons. It was a relatively novel concept at that time, but DeBakey appreci- ated the importance of post-operative care. DeBakey served in the U.S. Army's Office of the Surgeon General during World War II and had the vision to create a ward where surgical residents would train with the same exacting, militaristic approach under his civilian command. He suffered no fools and demanded unyielding excellence from his staff. His training program became a rite of passage. (continued) A SURGICAL THEATER OF FIRSTS As Houston Methodist prepares to open the new Walter Tower, surgeons say goodbye to the Fondren-Brown OR B y S h a n l e y P i e r c e Facing page: Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., in the operating room in 1971. Top: Ella Fondren, center, with DeBakey, right. Bottom: George R. Brown, far left, and Fondren, right, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Fondren-Brown Cardiovascular and Orthopedic Research Center in 1964. Credit: Facing Page: McGovern Historical Center, Texas Medical Center Library; Top: Courtesy of George Noon, M.D.; Bottom: The Methodist Hospital of Houston