From the Newsroom/El Paso Newspaper
Friday, January 27, 2023 | 21:07
Step.- The University Medical Center (UMC) of El Paso is celebrating 108 years of providing quality healthcare for the Borderplex region.
On January 26, UMC commemorated more than a century of milestones and achievements achieved through millions of patients cured, hundreds of thousands of newborns and improved community health.
When it first opened its doors in 1915, it was known as El Paso County General Hospital. In 1959, local voters created and approved the El Paso County Hospital District, paving the way for a new hospital building. The hospital would be named RE Thomason General Hospital, after Robert Ewing Thomason, a former mayor of El Paso and United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
“As I throw out this first shovel of dirt,” RE Thomason said at the groundbreaking ceremony in 1961: “It is my hope and prayer that the excellent modern hospital to be erected on this site will remain for many years to care for the sick and those who suffer in El Paso and the Southwest.”
In 1963, the RE of 335 beds. Thomason General Hospital, built by Robert E. McKee General Contractor, open to the public. Ten years later, in 1973, the hospital was designated as the principal teaching hospital of the Texas Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) and in 1975, the hospital received accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAHO). A $35 million dollar renovation and expansion project followed and upgraded its emergency department and pediatric intensive care unit. El Paso’s first heliport was added in 1986. The hospital was renamed El Paso University Medical Center in 2009.
In honor of 108 years of service, banners citing UMC’s historic journey will be hung on the main campus, located at 4815 Alameda Avenue, and at clinics throughout El Paso.
Key dates…
1915: El Paso County General Hospital opens with just 100 beds.
1935: The hospital is expanded to 204 beds, equipped with an operating room and sterilization equipment.
1941: An 88-bed tuberculosis ward is built on the hospital grounds.
1959: Local voters approve the El Paso County General Hospital District.
1963: The new 335-bed RE. Thomason General Hospital opens.
1965: At the dedication of RE Thomason General Hospital, Judge Thomason declares it “the greatest honor I ever had.”
1973: RE Thomason General Hospital becomes the main teaching hospital for the Texas Tech University Health Science Center.
1975: Thomason General Hospital achieves accreditation from the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation (JCAHO).
1983: The hospital undergoes a $35 million renovation and expansion project to upgrade its emergency department and pediatric intensive care unit.
1986: The hospital becomes a Level I Trauma Center. El Paso’s first hospital helipad is added.
1996 and 1998: RE Thomason General Hospital named one of America’s Top 100 Hospitals.
2002: RE Thomason General Hospital embraces the CARE values of community, responsibility, respect, and excellence. These values continue to serve as a standard of care throughout the organization.
2009: RE Thomason General Hospital officially changes its name to University Medical Center (UMC) of El Paso.
2011: UMC completes a $154 million dollar expansion and remodel of its Emergency Department with specialty units for neurology and cardiology. In addition, UMC receives the National Association of Public Hospitals (NAPH) President’s Award, the highest honor NAPH bestows on its member hospitals.
2017: The Joint Commission, the nation’s highest standard for medical credentialing, designates UMC as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Additionally, the State of Texas designates UMC as a Level 1 Stroke Center, a first for El Paso. Additionally, a new era of healthcare begins for UMC with the opening of two large walk-in clinics in West and East El Paso, each approximately 45,000 square feet.
2018: UMC becomes the first Level 4 Maternity Care hospital in El Paso, designated by the Texas Department of State Health Services. This is the highest possible designation for maternity care.
2019: UMC is one of two hospitals in El Paso treating victims of the Aug. 3, 2019 Walmart shooting that killed 23 people. UMC’s experience in trauma care ensures that all hospital patients receive the highest level of treatment.
2020 – 2021: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UMC becomes the largest hospital to address health crises since the 1918 influenza pandemic, when the hospital was just a few years old.
2022: UMC was recognized by America’s Essential Hospitals, a national trade association, for its regional and binational COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
