Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine, both located in Houston, are currently in discussions to merge, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.
An agreement could be reached as early as January and would affect the institutions' relationships with area hospitals. Baylor currently has relationships with Texas Children's Hospital, Ben Taub General Hospital and Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.
A merger would bring Baylor, one of only 10 freestanding medical schools in the United States, into Rice University, according to the report. Baylor has struggled financially after ending its relationship with Methodist Hospital in 2004. Baylor planned to build its own hospital after the relationship ended, but has been unable to begin construction.
According to the report, Rice and Baylor are in discussions with several area hospitals, including St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, to become the medical school's primary teaching hospital.
Read the Houston Chronicle's report on the Rice/Baylor merger.
An agreement could be reached as early as January and would affect the institutions' relationships with area hospitals. Baylor currently has relationships with Texas Children's Hospital, Ben Taub General Hospital and Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.
A merger would bring Baylor, one of only 10 freestanding medical schools in the United States, into Rice University, according to the report. Baylor has struggled financially after ending its relationship with Methodist Hospital in 2004. Baylor planned to build its own hospital after the relationship ended, but has been unable to begin construction.
According to the report, Rice and Baylor are in discussions with several area hospitals, including St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, to become the medical school's primary teaching hospital.
Read the Houston Chronicle's report on the Rice/Baylor merger.