A former Legent Hospital facility in El Paso may soon be upgraded for use as a 40-bed facility for the University Medical Center of El Paso.
Members of the El Paso County Commission have given their approval to a proposal allowing the El Paso County Hospital District to purchase the structure at 1416 George Dieter Driver for UMC’s use.
The mostly one-story building was formerly the home to the Foundation Surgical Hospital of El Paso.
As envisioned, the new hospital space will house half a dozen operating rooms and may include some office space.
Despite the plans for the building, county officials have maintained that the need for new hospital space remains great, with the possibility of an entirely new facility being built on the east side of El Paso in the near future.
One of the oldest public hospitals in the region, the University Medical Center of El Paso initially opened in 1915 as the El Paso General Hospital. It officially became the University Medical Center of El Paso in the summer of 2019.
According to hospital statistics, the University Medical Center of El Paso saw roughly 1,300 admissions per month in 2022.
By Garry Boulard
