Synapse - Life Sciences News Digest of the Medical center of the americas

Several health care facilities are moving into the Picacho Avenue area in west Las Cruces. A permit has been issued and some preliminary work has been done for a new Ben Archer Health Center facility with a pharmacy on Motel Boulevard. Additionally, Memorial Medical Center will open a new urgent care center later this year, inside the Citizen's Bank building at 3030 W. Picacho Ave. To date, a fairly new Walgreens store operates with a pharmacy at the corner of... [more]

Del Sol Medical Center had an open house and ribbon cutting April 5 for its Baby Café, located at 2200 Lee Trevino inside building 2, suite A. The Baby Café helps mothers with breastfeeding in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. This is the fourth Baby Café to open in the Paso del Norte region.

El Paso’s first Baby Café was opened in 2009 jointly by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, University Medical Center of... [more]

El Paso Commissioners Court approved a plan by University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC) to move its Eastside Neighborhood Health Center from its current location on Montwood Drive to the intersection of George Dieter and Pellicano. The new location is nearly five times larger and is part of the Dieter Marketplace shopping center. The new Eastside Health Center will mean expanded services. In addition to providing physician services, the... [more]

The University of Texas at El Paso has opened its new $69.2 million Chemistry and Computer Science Building. The 150,186-square-foot building houses two departments – chemistry and computer science – from two colleges – science and engineering. The facilities are designed to promote collaboration between the two colleges with department offices and labs spread throughout the building.

The building houses:

-       the University’s new $1.8 million cryo-electron microscope

-       the lab of Luis Echegoyen, Ph.D., Robert A. Welch... [more]

El Paso City Council voted Feb. 7 to set in motion a historic allocation of 75 percent of the city’s Impact Fund to the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation. It means approximately $3.2 million will be paid each year to the MCA Foundation for the next 18 years, potentially totaling more... [more]

   The Army is looking for space in El Paso for an off-post family health clinic, the first of its kind for the Army in El Paso.  This is the first time the Army has looked to operate a clinic off-post in El Paso.  The Army is also looking for eight medical practitioners to work at the clinic, including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. 

   Space for the clinic is being sought in East, Far East and Northeast El Paso,... [more]

Mentis Neuro Rehabilitation staged a ribbon cutting Jan. 19 at its El Paso location, 1831 Murchison. The facility is adding six more beds, going from 16 to 22 beds. The therapy areas are also larger.  To meet the growing demands of its services, Mentis Neuro also plans to hire additional staff.  Mentis Neuro, with locations also in Houston and Stow, Ohio, is accredited to provide a full suite of neurological recovery and mental services for adults who have suffered an... [more]

On Jan. 23, the Texas Department of Transportation started reconstruction on Alameda Highway between Boone Street and Concepcion Street. That portion of Alameda is in the heart of the MCA campus. Construction will affect the areas surrounding University Medical Center (UMC), Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center clinics, the El Paso Children's Hospital, Jefferson High School, Silva Magnet High School and several businesses. It is a $6.7 million improvement project scheduled for completion a year from now.

Upon... [more]

A $2 million project for the building of a 5,800-square-foot crisis triage center was approved recently by Dona Ana County officials. The center will be the only one of its kind in New Mexico. For more than a decade, it has been described as a missing link in the county's handling of the mentally ill. The county is hoping to bid out construction for the... [more]

Last chimps leave Alamogordo lab; 47-acre facility with haunting past now for sale

The long, dark and aging buildings are lined with small steel cages that look rather like dog kennels. But the animals who lived in them were large chimpanzees, higher primates that are the closest relative to the human race.

   For almost a decade, the massive biomedical research lab here was a chain link and concrete home for hundreds of chimpanzees used in medical research, the descendants of NASA's... [more]

El Paso Mental Health & Mental Retardation has opened its El Jardin Greenhouse at 8281 North Loop. The garden is part of MHMR's Sunrise Autism Program, the only day habilitation program designed for adults with autism in El Paso County. It helps people who have autism function as meaningfully and independently as possible by building on individual strengths, interests and needs. The project was funded by contributions from the El Paso Community Foundation, the Hervey Foundation and Home Depot.

On Oct. 29^th, the city’s first hospital exclusively for women opened its doors to the public at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The $103 million Women's Pavilion and Outpatient Center is housed on the first five floors of the 10-story east tower. It features 90 private rooms, three operating suites and two nurseries.

Outpatient services, expected to open in the week of Nov. 7, will include a physical rehabilitation center, a chemotherapy and infusion center for cancer treatments, a laboratory and an imaging... [more]

El Paso City Council on Oct. 18 approved two important Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) matters. With 7 “yes” votes and only one abstention by Lower Valley District 6 City Rep. Eddie Holguin, council approved: (1) the MCA’s lease of 11.7 acres of city land in the MCA campus for the greater of $1,000 or 10% of cumulative net profits per year and (2) the approval to begin the process for creating a voluntary Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ)... [more]

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso recently purchased Tequila Frogs, bar and grill, which is located at 4908 Alberta and sits between the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and University Medical Center (UMC). It is a small step toward the goal of becoming a health sciences university. Ultimately, the location will become some sort of academic building, said Frank Stout, associate dean for finance and administration at the medical school.

Click here to... [more]

The University of Texas School of Public Health-El Paso Regional Campus has moved from North Stanton Street to the fourth floor of UTEP’s Health Sciences Building at 1101 N. Campbell. Hector Balcazar, professor and regional dean of the El Paso campus, said all of the faculty are on the same floor now and will have better interaction with UTEP colleagues and students. The new space includes one research office on the second floor. Interactive television classrooms are located on the... [more]

The Pediatric Emergency Room at the Children's Hospital at Providence had its official opening ceremony Sept. 26.  The opening makes the facility the first pediatric emergency room in El Paso, said John Harris, Sierra Providence Health Network president. Hospital officials began planning for the dedicated children's emergency room more than five years ago.  The "hospital within a hospital" has 148 beds, part of a $4 million renovation, and seven new doctors, all pediatric specialists hired from outside the area. For... [more]

Sierra Providence East Medical Center is expanding with the opening of a new Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center. The state-of-the-art 3,474-square-foot facility located in the medical office building next to the hospital will offer specialized treatment for chronic or non-healing wounds. Non-healing wounds can be caused by diabetes, traumatic injury, poor circulation, radiation treatment and other causes. The wound center represents over a quarter of a million dollar investment by Sierra Providence East. 

Release  

 William Beaumont Army Medical Center will be replaced in its entirety by a new hospital budgeted at nearly $1 billion. The groundbreaking will take place Aug. 12 at the hospital’s new site on East Bliss, near Loop 375 and Loop 601 Spur. The new hospital is projected to open in 2016. Currently, William Beaumont Army Medical Center is under the command of Col. (P) Dennis... [more]

On June 21, El Paso city council voted unanimously to rezone the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) to SmartCode.  The MCA is the area of land containing about 440 acres and currently includes the following anchor tenants:  TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, University Medical Center of El Paso, and the developing El Paso Children’s Hospital. It is also the site for a planned biotech research park, which is currently a project being spearheaded by the MCA Foundation.... [more]

Fort Bliss is getting a new medical and dental clinic as part of a series of projects to upgrade, modernize and expand health care on the post. The new $24.6 million clinic broke ground June 9 and is set for completion by June 2012. It is being built on Torch Street just east of Loop 375. The medical portion of the 39,000-square-foot clinic will serve active-duty military and their families, while the dental portion is just for active-duty military. Reconstruction... [more]

Virtually out of space and with hope dwindling that a third building will be added anytime soon, El Paso’s budding medical school has begun pushing its administrative and back-office operations out of its core campus to make room for more lab space. Besides the fact that some of the school’s researchers are already sharing benches in the school’s labs, which makes it difficult to recruit, more lab space also means more money for the school, according to Dr. Charles Miller,... [more]

The Warrior Transition Complex for wounded and injured soldiers is now open at Fort Bliss. Located at Marshall and Cassidy, the $57 million facility officially opened yesterday (June 8). It will house up to 232 wounded, injured and ill soldiers who require medical care of at least six months. The goal of the facility is to give care while helping them transition back to military duty or to civilian life. Their families will also be able to live with them... [more]

University Medical Center of El Paso will open the latest completed phase of its campus-wide expansion program this Thursday (May 19) to the press. The $6.7 million project adds 10,500 square feet to UMC’s emergency (ER) department, including 21 new treatment rooms, six fast-track rooms and a decontamination room for patients exposed to hazardous materials. Among the new treatment rooms are four isolation rooms for patients with contagious diseases. Four new nursing stations are also part of the new facility. 

... [more]

A June 8th ribbon cutting is scheduled for Fort Bliss’ $51 million Warrior Transition Barracks (WTB).  The project is listed as the number one example of most innovative and effective projects, according to “100 Recovery Act Projects that are changing America.” The list looks at projects born out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are putting people back to work and helping transform the economy. The WTB broke ground Oct. 16, 2009 and will offer 185,000... [more]

Tours of the nearly complete El Paso Children’s Hospital has begun. Set to open February next year under the helm of CEO Larry Duncan, about 25 community leaders have already taken the tour of the $120 million hospital that, officials say, is one of several projects elevating the quality and scope of medical care in El Paso. Other projects include the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing, and the Medical Center of the... [more]

Growing at a pace that exceeds available funds, the TTUHSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has opened a modular facility call the Medical Science Building (MSB) Annex.  The small lab annex will accommodate faculty and postgraduate fellows of the Center of Excellence in Infectious Disease who are trying to expand the capacity of infectious disease research in key areas of border-population health:  influenza, vector-borne viral illnesses, St. Louis Encephalitis, HIV, and Dengue Fever. The modular facility was necessary to... [more]

GlobeSt.com, a commercial real estate analysis and news site reporting on major and secondary markets throughout the U.S., has featured the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation’s plans for developing a biomedical incubator and biotech research park in El Paso.

Article

Excerpts:

“Although no leases have been signed for the anchor property… the team is working with a variety of potential tenants including the City of El Paso, which could occupy one floor of the property for its public... [more]

Oregon-based Element Power has started construction on the Macho Springs Wind Farm, about 20 miles northeast of Deming. With 28 1.8-megawatt wind turbines, the wind farm will generate power to more than 20,000 homes. It will employ about 150 workers and provide more than $8 million to Luna County over its 20-year life. Construction is expected to be completed in August.

Article

San Antonio-based company TEAM Integrated Engineering has been named a subcontractor on a $15-million, five-year contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The company is one of two partners with Maryland-based Argo Systems LLC, which is the prime contractor on the project. The companies will oversee the construction and engineering services of a new military hospital at Fort Bliss – a project that totals close to $1 billion.

El Paso Inc.

This month begins a yearlong planning process as the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation moves forward with its objective to erect a multi-million-dollar Biomedical Research Incubator in El Paso. Multiple stakeholders will engage in the strategic visioning of the building. More than just a building, the incubator means the creation of a biosciences research park in El Paso and the fortification of a new economic future for the region.

Article                Release    

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A commentary posted... [more]

Fort Bliss’ $51 million Warrior Transition Barracks (WTB) is scheduled for completion in late May. (Construction had been previously set for a March 17 completion date.)  The project is listed as the number one example of most innovative and effective projects, according to “100 Recovery Act Projects that are changing America.” The list looks at projects born out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are putting people back to work and helping transform the economy. The... [more]

Fort Bliss broke ground recently on a 52,000-square-foot emergency services headquarters. The $15 million project is expected to be completed by October next year. The complex will allow consolidation of Fort Bliss’ fire, police and security under one roof, and provide command and control particularly for east Bliss, which will be main Bliss next year. This is the first emergency services headquarters of its kind to support a large installation. It could be the standard for all Army installations.

The Soldier Family Care Center will officially open Dec. 15 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new $42.5 million, 146,000-square-foot center is the largest and most technologically advanced ambulatory health center in the Department of Defense. The SFCC will serve as the primary care medical home for about 20,000 active duty soldiers and 25,000 family members of active duty soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Division. 

Monitor

Military.com

A two-story building expansion area has been added to the New Mexico State University College of Health and Social Services. The extra 7,392 square feet will house the Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research. It will also include a 136-seat auditorium on the first floor with state-of-the-art audio and video equipment for classes. Funds for the $2 million expansion project came from the state of New Mexico for the Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research.

Release

University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC) unveiled its new Level I Trauma Center to the public today.  The Trauma Center is housed in UMC's new $31 million West Pavilion, which also includes new operating suites and a new heart program. The West Pavilion is the first major component to be completed in UMC's $315 million campus makeover. The Trauma Center will begin accepting patients Monday.

Opening next will be the medical center's new Emergency Department, slated for completion early summer... [more]

Four days of community collaboration and design on the second phase of the Medical Center for the Americas (MCA) Master Plan has resulted in a unified vision for the medical/research campus. The MCA Foundation will take the second phase of the Master Plan to City Plan Commission and City Council this fall. More details as well as maps and illustrations of how the MCA campus might grow into the future are posted online.

MCA Master Plan

Sierra Providence East Medical Center has been open only two years, but plans are already in the works to expand the 110-bed hospital on El Paso's booming far East Side. "The hospital has done extremely well. It's the most successful startup hospital in Tenet's history," said Sally Hurt-Steffen, the hospital's CEO.
 
El Paso Times                            El Paso Inc.

By 2016, every single piece of Fort Bliss’s aging medical infrastructure will have been replaced.  A new Beaumont medical facility to be built on the eastern reaches of Fort Bliss is just part of the construction and expansion that will grow the post’s medical facilities to more than 2-million-square feet. Year 2016 is four years after the surge of new soldiers, now expected in 2012.

El Paso Inc.

The Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation recently wrapped up its four-day charrette, the centerpiece event of the MCA's design phase of its 50-year Master Plan. The vision is to transform the MCA campus into a world-class medical center and research park focused on issues unique to a Hispanic, binational, and military population.

MCA                  El Paso Inc.