Our county hospital chief executive officer (CEO) is upset that he had to fire 56 employees the other day.
He should be
This is a mess that he created. Our CEO actively promoted the plan for the El Paso Children’s Hospital to the voters.
Turning attention to the 56 jobs and away from the carnage that terminating the employees will cause for them and their families, we should ask about the necessity of those jobs.
Were they unnecessary, fluff, pork? If so then shame on management for wasting the money. How much more of this is going on at the hospital?
If they were necessary, what will happen to patient care? Will this just be an inconvenience that patients will have to endure for the sake of the massive egos of management? Or will patient care be jeopardized? What will that do to the quality of life of the patients? Hopefully no one will die as a result of this cut back. I wonder how much that would cost us?
We deserve better
Brutus
“Even though the children’s hospital is under our umbrella, it will be governed separately September 2, 2011
elpasospeak 
More typically, the tension is between the public healthcare facility and the private ones, e.g., the planned clinics here. This is unique in that it is a brouhaha between two public facilities. It takes a certain amount of incompetent, vain genius to have created a situation like this.
The private hospitals can sit on the sidelines and watch UMC deconstruct itself. But there is enough of the Shaplite faction in play to probably result in a public bailout that will cost us dearly in a vain attempt to save Shaplite reputations. But it won’t be called a “tax increase.”
Is this the future stadium and trolley scenario, too?
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Agreed, and add to that list, Escobar, Byrd and a host of others who did not comprehend the cost of pediatric care. Health care costs for children with special health care needs, and chronic conditions and diseases exceeds all other care costs, including geriatric care. This is a matter of fact and those crunching the numbers should have known this.
El Paso and the surrounding region need a children’s hospital. It does not need to be a stand-alone facility. It also needs the uncompromising support of the entire medical community – Tenet, Las Palmas, Del Sol and UMC. Until then, our children will continue to leave the area for specialized care – at least those who can afford such travel.
My vote is for the children, not the political egos who embarked on this loosing venture. Poor El Paso . . . she looses at every turn while cities like Albuquerque, Tucson, and Phoenix prosper. Too bad . . . .for us.
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Really, the more I think about it, privatizing both hospitals as a “package deal” might be a workable solution. That way UMC could solicit bids for either a complete buyout or for an operating lease of both units with the county setting an annual contribution to the deal, say equal to what it pays now to UMC. Who knows, maybe Foster and Hunt might bid on it? The corporate welfare aspect would appeal to their current MO.
The county would receive a huge payout from the deal (for a soccer stadium?) and have a known, fixed contribution going forward; much easier to manage. Either way, we get rid of Valenti’s histrionics and take the whole enchilada out of political play. The Shaplites could take credit for it and save face from what is otherwise a political fiasco for them.
The only downside I can see is what will we have to write about when we don’t have UMC to kick around? Well, there is still the City Council, stadium, trolley, HACEP, whatever.
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