Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Care topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
UMC presents quarterly operations update and outlines state‑level legislative priorities
Summary
UMC and El Paso Children’s Hospital leaders briefed commissioners on clinical program additions, a bond timetable, and active legislative priorities including protecting El Paso Health’s managed‑care role and requests for state capital funding for a psychiatric center and cancer center expansion.
Representatives of the El Paso County Hospital District and its affiliates detailed clinical expansions, a bond‑management timeline and several legislative priorities during a quarterly briefing to the county commissioners on Monday.
Jacob Sintron, president and CEO of the hospital district, described new clinical services and accreditations — including El Paso’s first urology procedure performed with a Da Vinci single‑port robotic system, the expansion of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) capability, and geriatric emergency‑department accreditation. Sintron said those additions are intended to reduce patient travel out of the region for specialty care. He also reviewed outreach and community events tied to UMC’s 110th anniversary.
Michael Nunez, chief financial officer, presented key operating metrics for the fiscal year. He said inpatient admissions, emergency department visits and outpatient volumes have shown growth and that the district’s days‑cash‑on‑hand and current ratio were affected in part by the timing of premium payments to El Paso Health. Nunez noted that a large premium payment to El Paso Health was received in December and a second payment arrived in February, improving the cash position.
The hospital district and its partners also discussed bond planning. District staff said new federal rules require that 85% of bond proceeds be spent within three years of issuance; that timetable affects how and when the district will schedule draws for construction and equipment. Maria Zampini, chief operating officer (presented by staff), and others are coordinating project phasing so the bond‑funded projects can meet that requirement.
On state policy, Reuben Vogt and other district officials outlined several priorities the district will pursue during the Texas legislative session: preserving hospital-district-owned managed‑care organizations’ (MCOs) procurement protections for Medicaid contracts; opposing proposals that would eliminate or restrict hospital facility fees; preserving local financing options for hospitals (maintaining carve‑outs from proposed rollback‑rate changes); and defending the statutory definition of standalone children’s hospitals to protect reimbursement levels for El Paso Children’s Hospital. District representatives said they are tracking roughly 1,100 bills, with 62 flagged as high‑priority for the district.
Commissioners voted to accept the quarterly report by motion from Judge Samaniego and a second from Commissioner Coronado; the motion carried in open session. County staff noted the hospital district will continue to coordinate with the county and state delegation on capital requests, including additional funding the district and partners are seeking for a cancer center expansion and for developing a state psychiatric center site.
