It looks like the chickens are coming home to roost at the children’s hospital and the people involved are blaming each other.
The children’s hospital is not making money, contrary to what we were told when we voted to fund it. The way their contract with the county hospital works the shortfall will actually have to be made up with county taxpayer funds.
We were told that no county money (other than the bond money to build the facility) would be needed. Of course that was not true. Children’s hospitals generally do not make money. They are funded through donations from the public and, in cases like ours, taxpayer money.
Please don’t think that I am against having facilities that care for children. Some would argue that private hospitals can do that job. That is not the point that I am trying to make. We have the new facility, it is losing money, we need to decide how to handle it.
Deceit
It seems obvious that in our current situation taxpayer money is being used. The voters were not told the truth when the election was at hand. Maybe the voters would have decided that we needed the hospital even if it operated at a loss. Maybe not, but the voters certainly were not given an opportunity to decide based on reality.
The head of the county hospital was given $152 million to build three clinics and remodel part of the old building last year. Now he is openly talking about “re-purposing” the money.
Both hospital chiefs are under the spotlight at this point.
Don’t be surprised if they both leave. Then don’t be surprised if our current county judge tries to take one of those well paying jobs.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
We should make a list of all of the times we were told something that started with the phrase “No additional funding will be needed” or “It will pay for itself” or “We will get a return on our investment that will far exceed the initial cost.”
Let’s start, shall we?
Children’s Hospital
Ballpark
Cesar Chavez Tollway
…
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Most hospital folks here in town knew this was a loser from day one. There is no where near the number of critically ill children to support this hospital, and then those who do are uninsured.
There was one high profile woman who was for years a cheerleader for this hospital, then the grifters latched on to her campaign and made bank on the construction.
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I think part of the reason to build a pediatric hospital was to attract pediatricians. Medical specialists tend not to locate here where they will see more patients and receive less reimbursement.
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A dedicated Children’s Pediatric hospital attracts pediatric sub-specialists and there are few in Texas…El Paso is is five hundred plus miles from Dallas, Houston or Austin. It takes time, money and dedication to grow…sort of like children. A lot of us Tax payers pay school taxes for children we do not have …do you want them to move away for healthcare, education and jobs?
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