El Paso Children’s Hospital’s financial woes, potential future concern local parents

Aug. 10--Many parents describe the opening of El Paso Children's Hospital in 2012 as a blessing because children would no longer have to seek specialty pediatric care out of town.

Now some of those same parents are worried about the future of the hospital, which is having financial problems.

"I don't know what we would do without the hospital," said parent Kimberly Perez, who daughter, Joselyn, has leukemia. "I owe my daughter's life to the doctors and nurses who work there."

She said her daughter receives chemotherapy at the children's hospital every week, and if the hospital closed, they would have to go somewhere else.

El Paso Children's Hospital is an independent, non-profit hospital that pays rent and fees for services to the University Medical Center. The cash-strapped hospital stopped making payments to UMC in February. The hospital is trying to renegotiate its financial debt with UMC, which UMC says is upwards of $60 million.

The hospital disputes that amount. At the same time, hospital officials have said they are not going to talk publicly about its debt or state.

Susie Byrd, spokeswoman for the children's hospital, said in a written statement that the organization is working "diligently" to resolve the financial issues "so that El Paso families can count on us for years to come."

On Wednesday, Dr. William Hanson, UMC board of trustees chairman, said during a meeting that UMC and the hospital are making substantial progress in the negotiations, which will ensure the success of both UMC and the hospital.

"There are many signs that are hopeful and we continue to move in a positive way," he said.

Many parents agree that the hospital's financial woes have not impacted the health care provided to their children, although they have led to an environment of uncertainty among employees and families whose children depend on the hospital.

Hector and Perla Gonzalez, whose daughter is fighting cancer, said the hospital is "doing such an awesome job" in protecting the families from the financial situation. But at the same time, there is tension among those who work there, they said.

"They (the employees) are trying to make things as comfortable as they always have made it for us. But at the same time you know, you can tell some of the workers, they are scared that they are going to lose their jobs," Perla Gonzalez said. "They are trying to carry on as if life is going on as normal."

Their daughter, Natasha Gonzalez, 8, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma last year at El Paso Children's Hospital.

She received chemotherapy treatment at the El Paso hospital and at the Dallas Children's Hospital. After a few months of remission, the cancer returned in February.

"Unfortunately, it came back stronger, "Hector Gonzalez said.

He said he is not concerned about the health care that is being provided to his daughter, but he would like the management of the hospital to be more attentive.

Hector Gonzalez said the hospital's administration has not reached out to the families to talk about its problems, which cause families to worry.

"The quality of care is still good, there is not doubt about it. Doctors and nurses are awesome," he said. "No one has actually mailed us a letter or come by and say you know hopefully you all feel comfortable, we are going through changes or something. On the contrary, if you speak up and put something on Facebook, they actually tell you not to do that," he added.

State of the hospital

In 2007, El Paso voters approved a $120 million bond issue to build the separately licensed children's hospital. It leases space for its facility from UMC, and also has contracts with UMC for shared services.

The hospital was supposed to be self-sufficient, paying rent to UMC.

But soon after it opened, the hospital encountered unforeseen changes and problems that included reduced Medicaid reimbursements for children's hospitals, the Texas governor's rejection of federal Medicaid expansion benefits for the state, and long delays in collecting insurance reimbursements.

Currently, UMC officials have said that children's owes it $68 million in payments, and that UMC provides the hospital with $30 million in services. It is this amount that is in dispute and both sides are negotiating over.

In June, El Paso Children's Hospital CEO Ray Dziesinski told the El Paso Times the 122-bed hospital is not failing. From Oct. 1, 2013 to June 30, the hospital admitted 3,038 patients and had close to 30,000 outpatient visits.

The hospital's pediatric sub specialties include intensive care, cardiac services, gastroenterology, endoscopy, ophthalmology, maxillofacial surgery, oncology, among many others.

In June, the hospital released its "global financial actions plan" to ensure the long term "viability" of the hospital.

The plan included $10 million in unspecified cuts, which do not include a reduction in staff or services.

And while Children's Hospital officials are confident the hospital is on the right path, UMC officials have repeatedly said that the hospital is not going to be able to pay UMC back for at least two years.

To make up for that money, UMC is cutting expenses, may implement furloughs and it is delaying the construction of three primary care clinics.

In addition, UMC recently laid-off 56 employees because of financial problems attributed to the inability of El Paso Children's Hospital to pay UMC.

UMC is in the process of setting its budget and tax rate for next year. Children's is not a public hospital and does not have access to property taxes.

Aileen B. Flores may be reached at 546-6362.

___

(c)2014 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas)

Visit the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas) at www.elpasotimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services