El Paso County Hospital District seeks $346 million: What you need to know

University Medical Center of El Paso is hosting community meetings for the public to learn about a proposed bond initiative that would bring new health care facilities to the Borderland — but it also would raise property taxes.

Public meetings are being held over the next month to inform the public of the initiative and invite feedback. The next meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Sylvia Carreon Community Center at 709 Lomita Drive.

In June, the El Paso County Commissioners Court voted to notify the public of El Paso County Hospital District's intent to issue up to $400 million in certificates of obligation to conduct multiple expansion projects. The issue is whether the hospital should fund its proposed expansion and how.

The district estimated the cost of the projects at $345.7 million and was granted 68 days to perform public outreach. The Commissioners Court will vote Sept. 12 on whether to approve the proposal.

More:El Paso County begins process to possibly increase taxes for $346M in medical projects

Where is the money going?

The district breaks down the cost of the bond into four areas: University Medical Center capacity, El Paso Children's Hospital capacity, Cancer Institute, and property and land acquisition.

• UMC capacity: $176 million
• Children's Hospital capacity: $37 million
• Cancer Institute: $79 million
• Property and land acquisition: $54 million

"Our mission is to go out there and expand access to health care to everyone in the community," UMC Chief Operating Officer Maria Zampini said during a public presentation Aug. 11.

More ICU beds, new operating rooms

The hospital proposes expanding the number of critical care beds, seeking to rectify a shortage of bed space that began before the pandemic and was exacerbated during COVID-19. Before March 2020, UMC had fewer than seven available critical care beds daily, while 11 and 14 new patients needed to be admitted, according to the initiative webpage.

Zampini reported UMC needs nine additional operating rooms — three in the hospital and six in a new outpatient surgery center — to enhance surgery care. The in-hospital rooms would include a hybrid operating room with advanced imaging technology, a burn-surgery operating room and an operating room for surgical robots. Two new catheterization labs would be constructed.

A new neighborhood health and urgent care center in Central El Paso would provide 35 clinic exam rooms and 15 urgent care center beds. The Central El Paso clinic would emphasize geriatric care to help serve the region with the highest senior population in El Paso.

Expanding El Paso Children's Hospital

At the El Paso Children's Hospital, the district seeks to add 22 beds by 2025 and another 26 beds by 2030. The eighth floor of EPCH would be developed to achieve this expansion.

The EPCH Emergency Department would be equipped with additional space for family and clinical support staff. The Emergency Department currently has 10 treatment rooms and three Fast-Track rooms; this is less than half of the 22-24 treatment rooms the department should have to meet El Paso's current needs. A catheterization lab would be constructed to expand specialized procedure capabilities for children; EPCH currently shares a catheterization lab with UMC.

Comprehensive cancer center

A comprehensive cancer center would be established to address El Paso's lack of access to cancer care. Most El Paso cancer patients are diagnosed much later than patients in other cities, putting lives at risk, Zampini said, primarily due to the city's distance from adequate care facilities.

"A lot of people that don't have insurance can't do that," UMC CEOJacob Cintron told attendees about traveling for cancer care. "They simply do without."

The cost for El Pasoans

The $346 million is estimated to cost county taxpayers $563 million over 25 years if approved in September. Property taxes would cost an additional $56.80 annually — $4.73 each month — for every $100,000 of property valuation from 2023 to 2032.

From 2033 to 2047, the bond would cost residents $28.70 annually or $2.39 monthly for every $100,000 of property valuation.

In return, the district claims the expansions will bring more than 400 high-paying jobs to the community, which are expected to contribute $31 million annually to the local economy. Approximately 850 construction jobs would be added as expansion projects are carried out, resulting in a one-time economic contribution of around $38 million.

El Pasoans have demonstrated mixed responses thus far. In an El Paso Times op-ed Friday, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, expressed her support, writing that the project would "take our investments and return them to El Pasoans exponentially in the form of improved care and jobs."

"Quality of life isn't just measured by parks and amenities," Escobar wrote. "It's measured by how well we care for our residents."

West El Paso resident Michael Traylor said in an El Paso Times letter to the editor Monday that he wantsthe initiative to be put to a public vote, calling the debt "a big enough deal to give county voters a chance to decide if they want to take it on."