Election 2024: Every health clinic, project in UMC El Paso bond
On Nov. 5, voters will decide on a $396.6 million bond to expand University Medical Center of El Paso services and clinics throughout the county – and contribute toward the planned cancer center.
El Paso serves as a hub for health care in West Texas, with Fort Hancock residents willing to drive more than an hour to seek medical services in El Paso . More than half of UMC's patient population is insured through Medicaid, uninsured or under-insured, according to the hospital's website.
The comprehensive cancer center would differ from other treatment centers in El Paso because it would be one building that houses every health service a cancer patient needs, from radiation to office visits to rehabilitation, said Maria Zampini, UMC chief operating officer, at an El Paso County Commissioners Court meeting in August.
"We don't have a comprehensive cancer center, so our patients have to travel in order to be able to get the care that they need," Zampini said. "So just like the burn center, the cancer center, our patients deserve to be able to stay in El Paso."
Here are all the new health clinics and facilities the bond would fund:
UMC El Paso main hospital: $134.5 million would go to upgrading the main hospital. The bond would fund the addition of surgical suites, cardiac catheterization, 25 observation beds and laboratory services. The funding would also go toward improving imaging technology, as well as increasing and improving garage and surface parking.
About two-thirds of the beds in the emergency department are not available to new patients and without these upgrades, patients will wait longer to be admitted and for surgeries and catheterizations, according to a UMC presentation to county commissioners.
El Paso, like the rest of Texas, is facing a critical shortage of physicians, nurses and health care workers. Funding for recruitment would come from UMC's operating budget and other sources, not the bond, hospital officials said.
Comprehensive cancer center: $30 million would go toward construction and equipment for the new cancer center, a partnership between UMC and Texas Tech Health El Paso. Taxpayer money from the bond cannot go directly to Texas Tech Health El Paso and UMC officials said the hospital is still working out the details of their partnership.
Many cancer patients in El Paso travel out of town, such as to Phoenix and Houston, for treatment. UMC provides some treatment including infusion and surgery for cancer patients, but it does not provide radiation therapy, said UMC CEO Jacob Cintron at a county commissioners meeting in August.
The planned cancer center on Texas Tech Health El Paso campus would offer chemotherapy, radiation, imaging and other services to adult patients.
The center would also house a pharmacy to make cancer medication more accessible. Research is another important component of the cancer center, Cintron added.
"There's therapies out there that go beyond our imagination that we're hoping to continue to invest in, to be able to be in the forefront and provide our community the much-needed care," Cintron said.
Construction is set to begin in January 2025 at the corner of Rosa Avenue and Rick Francis Street with an opening projected for 2026, said Texas Tech Health El Paso President Richard Lange.
The cancer center's estimated price tag has jumped from $97 million to a range of $120 million to $150 million because of the rise in construction costs and the structure is bigger than what was originally proposed, Lange told El Paso Matters. The original estimate also didn't include equipment, he added. Last year, Lange said El Paso property taxpayers would not have to pay for construction.
The state of Texas contributed $65 million last legislative session to the cancer center and the El Paso delegation plans to request another $60 million next session.
"The $65 million was meant to kickstart that process," said Texas Rep. Joe Moody. "We do have every intention of going back this legislative session and secure the remaining balance that we need to bring everything to fruition by 2026."
Lange said Texas Tech Health El Paso would help finance construction if the center does not receive enough funding, but that money would be better spent on cancer care and other projects for patients.
The bond cannot be used on salaries and operations, UMC officials said.
In a separate pot of funds, the Fox family donated $25 million toward research, treatment, clinical trials, cancer imaging, outreach programs and the recruitment of staff for the future Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center.
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation also awarded a $5 million grant to Texas Tech Health El Paso for hiring staff. The foundation will support the recruitment of experts in prevalent cancers in El Paso, including breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancer and OB-GYN oncology.
Burn center and critical care beds: $24.5 million would go toward a new burn center so burn patients do not have to go out of town for care. The burn center will go on the third floor of the hospital, providing two operating rooms, swing beds for recovery and a different air conditioning system to provide comfort to burn patients. The burn center will also double as a critical care unit so the beds not occupied by burn patients can be used for critical care patients, UMC officials said.
Geriatric clinic in Central El Paso: This clinic would serve El Paso's aging population. UMC has three geriatric physicians and plans to hire more. Dr. Ismael Rodriguez, a geriatric physician at UMC, said earlier this year that El Paso is not close to where it needs to be to address the current and upcoming demand in the older population. Preventative care can extend a person's quality of life, but often, physicians see patients when it's too late, when their diabetes has already already caused serious complications, when their cognitive decline has progressed too far to qualify for certain treatments.
Other access points: The biggest slice of the bond – $207.6 million – would go to the geriatric clinic and several other new facilities. New builds include a health center in Horizon City, as well as an ambulatory surgical center and urgent care center on the Westside. Funds would also go to the addition of rehabilitation services at UMC's Eastside clinic and a specialty clinic in a Texas Tech Health El Paso building. The specialty clinic will offer imaging, rehab and a pharmacy, UMC officials said.
If approved, the bond would raise the UMC portion of the average homeowner's bill by about $95 a year for 10 years and about $52 a year for the next 20 years after that. If the bond does not pass, UMC cannot use certificates of obligation to fund the voter-rejected projects for at least three years – but could again ask voters to consider the propositions in a subsequent election.
UMC in 2022 attempted to issue $346 million in certificates of obligation – debt that doesn't require voter approval – for similar projects before a petition stopped the effort .
Key Dates
See the El Paso Matters Voter Guide for more information.
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