Opinion: UMC bond issue will improve health care in El Paso
When voters approved construction of a new Thomason Hospital (now University Medical Center) in the 1950s, little did they know just how consequential it would become for El Pasoans of all walks of life – a hospital that employs nearly 4,000 people, one that provides world-class access to health care in our region and helps sustain and grow our medical school.
As our only not-for-profit hospital, UMC belongs to all of us. Our community has been profoundly enriched by UMC, and this hospital has been there for us, most especially during times of tremendous need.
In this upcoming election, UMC is asking for our support for their bond initiative, $397 million, which would fund El Paso's first burn center and support their partnership with Texas Tech University Health Sciences El Paso to build a comprehensive cancer center, both of which are long overdue and would help El Pasoans access life-saving care here in our community.
For anyone who has received the devastating news of a cancer diagnosis, the uncertainty, fear, and grueling treatment are only part of the life-altering journey. If you are fortunate to have health care coverage, certain cancer diagnoses may require you to leave the community for treatment, a terrifying and expensive part of the cancer journey.
That means leaving loved ones behind – and the healing power of being near them. If your spouse cannot afford to join you, it means leaving them behind. If your children cannot afford to join you, it means not seeing them when you need them most. For far too many El Pasoans diagnosed with cancer, leaving the community for care isn't even an option they can financially consider.
The same is true for burn patients. If you cannot be treated here in El Paso, which is the case for those most severely burned, you will need to be flown to Lubbock – if there's room available for you. And if your child suffers severe burns, it means having them flown to Galveston. And just as with cancer patients who have to leave El Paso for care, if loved ones cannot afford to go see you, you're on your own.
UMC is asking for our support so that they can provide these critical services in El Paso for all of us, so we can receive the care we need here, right at home should we or someone we care about need it.
The bond initiative on your ballot will not fund the salaries of the 500 new jobs these new services will create, nor will it fund UMC's daily operations. The funding would pay for infrastructure and equipment needed to provide these services, which would be paid off in 30 years – similar to a mortgage that we pay when we purchase a home. And once that mortgage is paid off, it's all ours.
UMC's dedicated leaders and health care professionals have been there for us every time we've needed them. None of us will ever forget the tragedy that impacted us on Aug. 3, 2019. On that terrible day, a white supremacist drove to our community and unleased his hate on innocent people at a Walmart. The gunman used an AK-47 weapon in this devastating mass shooting; these assault weapons are designed to be devastatingly lethal and do as much damage as possible to a living being – to completely obliterate bones, muscles and arteries. We lost 23 souls, dozens more were injured and the residents with the most severe injuries in need of the highest-level trauma care received it at UMC.
Without UMC's level one trauma facility – the highest level of trauma care available and the only level one facility within 280 miles – many of the survivors with the most serious of injuries would have had to be airlifted to other communities. Because of UMC's facilities, equipment and talented health care professionals, the injured were able to be cared for in El Paso, where their families could visit and provide their loving support during their recovery.
UMC's level one trauma facility has helped more than just victims of gun violence – it's helped people survive and recover from a number of different life-threatening accidents.
And when the COVID pandemic hit El Paso several months later, UMC was there for our community once again. A significant number of El Pasoans have high co-morbidity rates – which essentially means that we suffer from multiple challenging health issues. That made El Pasoans especially susceptible to the deadly nature of COVID in those early months.
UMC augmented the city's public health efforts by being the first hospital to receive vaccines in 2020. It opened a vaccination hub at the County Coliseum, where up to 3,000 vaccinations were provided each day. It also vaccinated El Pasoans via a mobile medical unit, through its neighborhood health clinics, in the two county detention centers, and partnered in a bi-national vaccination effort to vaccinate maquiladora employees in collaboration with many local stakeholders and others in Juárez.
At the height of the pandemic, UMC administered nearly 350,000 vaccines and saved countless lives.
For anyone who has suffered a stroke or had a family member suffer a stroke, UMC's stroke center is the best of its kind. It is the community's only Level 1 Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center. It is also home to the community's only Mobile Stroke Unit, which is one of only two in Texas (the first in Houston).
The unit is equipped with a specialized 16-slice CT scanner for accurately imaging the brain and upon its arrival in 2021 was the most advanced Mobile Stroke Unit in the world.
Upon arrival at the scene of a potential stroke, the specialized team onboard quickly assesses the patient's condition. Time is of the essence with strokes, and by diagnosing and administering medication on-site/in-transit, the UMC Mobile Stroke Unit has the potential to offer patients better recovery outcomes.
UMC does all of this and more despite the fact that it is not a for-profit facility. Local taxes only fund between 15%-16% of UMC's budget. And the return on the investment for El Pasoans is extraordinary: for every $1 we provide UMC in tax dollars, we get $28 in economic activity.
And UMC makes up approximately 8% of our property tax bill (may vary slightly depending on your jurisdiction) – that's only 8 cents for every dollar we pay in taxes. This is an investment in our health, our future, our ability to attract new businesses, but more importantly, a guarantee that we can access the health care we might need for ourselves one day.
We know that when we invest with health care, that investment doesn't just grow our access to the care we need, but it also creates great jobs, grows our economy and makes us more competitive. I'm proud of the leadership at UMC — they see the tremendous need in our community for burn and cancer patients and are presenting us with a plan to meet that need.
Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 21 and runs through Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 5. We have a critical and important opportunity to invest in ourselves – our health care and our future. God forbid anyone reading this ever needs the cancer center or the burn center, but if you or your loved ones ever do, winning this election ensures you will have the ability to get your care in El Paso, surrounded by those you love the most and who can help you on your healing journey.
I'm asking for you to join me in supporting UMC and their work for a better El Paso.
Veronica Escobar represents Texas' 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a former El Paso County judge and commissioner.
