Having opened in May 1963, the hospital is owned and operated by the Harris Health System and is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students from Baylor College of Medicine.

With 409 licensed beds, it is one of the busiest trauma centers in the United States, caring for over 106,000 emergency patients during its last fiscal year (March 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011).

Ben Taub is also the only hospital in Houston with a psychiatric emergency department open 24 hours a day.

[2][3] The hospital is named after Ben Taub (1889–1982), a real estate developer and businessman whose extensive behind-the-scenes philanthropic efforts helped transform Houston.

As of 1998 the hospital district designated much of the county, including central, southern, and western portions, to Ben Taub.