City: El Paso, TX

Category: Health Care

Telephone: (915) 521-7755

Address: 4815 Alameda Ave.

Description: Formerly known as Thomason Hospital, University Medical Center (UMC) is the city’s general hospital, the only Level I trauma center in the area, and is the designated facility to receive the President of the United States should he require medical attention while traveling in the area. It is also El Paso’s only not-for-profit, community-owned hospital and health care system and is a regional referral center for patients in need of specialty care.With 327 beds, UMC sees nearly 5,000 births a year and admits more than 22,000 patients annually. The history of UMC began in 1915 in a two-story, adobe building located in the area where Asarco is today. The move to 4815 Alameda happened just a year later when residents of the area raised the money to build a new hospital, which was named El Paso General. UMC was built in the 1950s, when locals voted to create the El Paso County Hospital District by taxing themselves to ensure the existence of a public health care system for the city. Today, UMC’s Emergency Department is one of El Paso’s busiest and the hospital is also home to some of the city’s most unique health care services, such as El Paso CAREs for Kids After-Hours Pediatrics, a nighttime children’s health care practice. The Mother/Baby Division includes complete labor and delivery services, and one third of all babies born in El Paso each year are delivered at University Medical Center. Other UMC specializations include the Pediatrics Unit, Medical Unit, Surgical Unit, Critical Care Unit, Telemetry Unit, and operating rooms, as well as a fully accredited regional laboratory, radiology department, and pharmacy.