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Officials with the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation announced on Friday the launch of its newly redesigned website with updated content and functionality that makes it easier to understand the MCA’s mission and initiatives.

“This new website is important because the MCA is dedicated to both transparency and promotion,” said Emma Schwartz, President of the MCA Foundation. “This new website design allows us to communicate in a concise and engaging way all of the wonderful work happening not only at the MCA, but also throughout the region.  Promoting our region’s advancements in developing a robust healthcare industry and an exciting biomedical innovation ecosystem is important for our own community members so that they can get involved and for external parties that may want to do business here or relocate to the region.”

The new website offers a variety of new and updated features, including fresh and reorganized content and hopes to foster more community engagement through increased and user-friendly functionality.

The new site includes additional information on the MCA’s primary programs, including the MCA Innovation Center, Clinical Trials, BIO El Paso-Juarez, Real Estate and Campus Planning, and the Cardwell Collaborative. It also allows online donations to specific programs and areas of support, event sponsorships, and online registration for events.

Additionally, users will now be able to apply for the MCA’s entrepreneur/innovator development and startup development programs online.

Josh Hunt, chair of the MCA Foundation board, says, “We want the community to know that we are resource for them, and we need them to get involved.  The first step to getting more engagement is by clearly communicating who we are and what we do, then creating easy ways to participate.  This new website does these things very well.”

The MCA Foundation is headed to Boston this week to showcase El Paso’s biotechnology and life sciences sectors at the world’s largest biotechnology conference, the BIO International Convention.

“This year, El Paso will have a voice and be well-represented at BIO International,” said Emma Schwartz, President of the MCA Foundation.  “We are proud to partner with THBI and the rest of the state to showcase the strengths of our life sciences industry and promote the benefits of doing business in our unique region.”

At BIO International, the MCA will promote the region’s thriving life sciences and growing biotech industries while connecting with the biggest names in biotech.

The MCA will also be promoting BIO El Paso-Juarez, a new organization formed in partnership with the Cluster Biomedico Regional in Juarez to bring together and enhance the medical device industry in El Paso and Juarez.

The MCA is attending BIO International as part of the Texas delegation led by the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute (THBI) and the Office of the Governor and Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC).

The Texas delegation includes representatives from more than 30 communities and companies. More than 16,000 biotechnology and pharmaceutical leaders are expected to attend the annual gathering.

On Tuesday, City Council authorized staff to explore expanding the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #6 (TIRZ 6) in Central El Paso to include taxable properties.

“This is going to be a game changer for the MCA area. Currently, all properties within this TIRZ are tax exempt because they belong to publicly owned institutions. Expanding the boundaries will allow us to capture incremental property taxes from parcels that do not qualify for tax exemptions,” said Jessica Herrera, City of El Paso Economic and International Development Department Director.

The City’s proposal aims at growing the TIRZ to approximately 400 acres from just under 70 acres. The City created the zone in 2013 to help encourage development for the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) campus.

The TIRZ revenue stream will be used to fund public improvements within the zone’s boundaries.

Some of the possible improvements include; entry monuments as part of a Sun City Lights program expansion, wayfinding, additional street lighting and landscaping, bridge and intersection improvements, pedestrian and ADA enhancements, and bike facilities.

The Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, and its affiliated companies are focused on creating a world-class medical center within the MCA Campus in south central El Paso,along with a regional biomedical industry that will foster and accelerate innovation, creating new employment opportunities and meeting healthcare needs for the Paso del Norte region.

The Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation was recently awarded a planning grant for $30,000 from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to begin the development of Career and Technical Education (CTE) tracks at Jefferson High School focused on advanced and bio manufacturing.

The proposed curriculum will offer both dual credits and technical certifications, addressing the problem of advanced manufacturing middle-skill shortages to meet the need of existing regional industries such as automotive, and emerging industries such as bio-manufacturing, in the Paso del Norte region.

The MCA Foundation has organized a committee comprised of 15-20 local community partners committed to developing a rigorous STEM curriculum focused on advanced and bio-manufacturing.  The committee consists of representatives from Jefferson High School, Maxine Silva Health Magnet School, El Paso Independent School District Career and Technical Education Program, El Paso Community College Advanced Technology Center and Workforce Solutions Borderplex.

The committee will also be adding industry partners in advanced and bio-manufacturing to provide students access to industry internships and work-based training that complements their specific program of study.

STEM-based jobs are expected to grow 17 percent in the next 10 years, outpacing the overall job growth of 10 percent.   The lack of quality STEM education for Hispanic students in the workforce has a direct impact on innovation and economic growth for the Paso del Norte region.

“We are so thrilled to be launching this exciting program at Jefferson High School, which is located on the MCA campus. Developing a bio-manufacturing workforce pipeline is very important to the overall growth of our regional biomedical cluster,” said Emma Schwartz, president of the MCA Foundation.  “What better place to start developing this talent than in our regional high schools.”

The program will begin with the addition of CTE tracks at Jefferson High School focused on advanced and bio-manufacturing.  New CTE tracks include advanced welding; robotics and automation 1; robotics and automation 2; advanced engineering design and presentation; and engineering design and problem solving or engineering math.

The program will be split into two tracks, with one track focused on students pursuing dual credit courses, opening a pathway to postsecondary education in STEM majors.

The second track will focus on students who want to receive a technical certification in advanced manufacturing upon completion of their high school career in the identified STEM endorsed CTE tracks applicable to advanced and bio-manufacturing. These students would then be given the option to pursue apprenticeships with identified industry partners.

“The El Paso Independent School District strives to provide students with real-world learning opportunities that will make them future- and career-ready,” said EPISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera. “We are happy to partner with MCA Foundation to bring laser welding and advanced manufacturing to Jefferson/Silva. These programs will give our students an edge in a field that is competitive and in high demand.”

Upon implementation of the advanced and bio-manufacturing program at Jefferson High School, school administrators will be looking at student outcome data, including enrollment, retention, graduation rates, college enrollment, and advanced manufacturing job placement.  The end goal is to implement a model for a STEM-based project consortium that includes high school, community college, public and private sectors all working together for the development of an advanced manufacturing workforce.

“There’s great strength in our region’s economy, and this collaboration will powerfully address the mismatch between job skills and employment opportunities in El Paso,” said Bob Snow, head of Chase Middle Market Banking in El Paso. “Meeting this challenge will not only pave the way for continued growth, but it also will help local workers secure a career that will provide for their families.”

About the MCA Foundation

The Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization is focused on creating a world class medical center to foster and accelerate biomedical innovation, creating new employment opportunities while meeting healthcare needs of the Paso del Norte region (the larger cross-border region of El Paso County; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and Juárez, Mexico).

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management.

A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. The firm uses its global resources, expertise, insights and scale to address some of the most urgent challenges facing communities around the world including the need for increased economic opportunity. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

Author: MCA