Tag Archives: University Medical Center Foundation.

We at University Medical Center and El Paso Children’s Hospital Foundations stand in awe, gratitude and solemn appreciation for the two hospitals we serve.

We are deeply proud of our association with the District’s hospital for adults and El Paso’s only not for profit Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for every infant, child and teen.

Every day, these two hospitals support El Paso and the surrounding region with a ferocious dedication represented in their respective missions to heal, serve and educate and to provide compassionate, coordinated family-centered care for children.

On August 3, 2019, our community and peaceful city found itself attacked through a hate crime to leave 23 people dead. Some were shopping for school supplies. Some dashed into Walmart for a last minute item. None deserved death. None of their families deserved losing their precious loved ones. We mourn them all. One year is still too tender.

We remember. We react. We cry and we fall to our knees asking for healing. We revere our associates made up of physicians, surgeons, nurses, administration and more for finding within themselves the light to lead the way in our darkest moment. They worked tirelessly for weeks, around the clock, day after day, minute by precious minute to save lives.

We have made the sign of the heart with our hands for a solid year now. In addition, we will continue never to forget:

We are El Paso Strong.

Thank you, University Medical Center of El Paso. Thank you, El Paso Children’s Hospital. We have never been more proud to say we work for you. We raise funds in your honor; to give you whatever you need to continue to produce the stellar work you achieved then and for what you are doing now and still to do. Our hearts are full in your service.

by Estela Casas, Executive Director of UMC and El Paso Children’s Hospital Foundations

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Being in the health care profession means caring about others. Students at the Foster School of Medicine aren’t waiting until they become doctors to put that caring into motion.

The student body of the medical school at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso is donating $1,268 to the University Medical Center Foundation of El Paso’s COVID-19 Compassionate Care Fund.

The fund was created in partnership with the El Paso Children’s Foundation to help University Medical Center of El Paso and El Paso Children’s Hospital patients and their families, as well as health care workers, with basic and urgent needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A few weeks ago, the class of 2023 started brainstorming ways to show appreciation for the hospital staff during the pandemic,” said Hani Michael Annabi, Medical Student Council President and member of the class of 2023. “Initially, the idea started as a food and coffee donation to the emergency department staff.”

Because of the challenges and potential safety risks associated with delivering food to the hospital, the students reconsidered their original idea.

When Annabi heard about the COVID-19 Compassionate Care Fund, he reached out to his 2023 classmates via email, Facebook and group messages to encourage donations to help health care workers, patients and families affected by the pandemic.

“I was overwhelmed by the generosity my class showed in a mere 24 hours, so I decided to email the entire Foster School of Medicine student body to ask for even more help,” said Annabi, who grew up in El Paso. “Donations ranged from $5 to $200. I was blown away with these donations, considering many students don’t have any current form of income.”

Meanwhile, their medical education continues. In the new era of social distancing, students at the Foster School of Medicine have switched to remote online learning.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has eerily illustrated the reality of our future careers in health care,” Annabi said. “We pursued a career in medicine to serve people in their most dire moments. Although we can’t physically serve on the front lines yet, we still want to positively impact those in need – patients and health care workers alike. These tumultuous times have underscored what it truly means to be a doctor.

Estela Casas, El Paso’s longest-serving broadcast journalist, announced Wednesday that she will be leaving television news to take on a new role as the Executive Director of the University Medical Center Foundation.

Casas has been a primary news anchor at KVIA-TV for nearly 27 years, after ten years of service at three other El Paso television stations.

KVIA general manager Kevin Lovell said, “Estela has been a main reason for ABC-7’s unparalleled success and dominance in the El Paso – Las Cruces market these past two and a half decades.”

Casas was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2010, and with bilateral breast cancer in 2017. She publicly shared personal details of her treatment in both those cases, and says she now wishes to do more to help those less fortunate than she who face significant medical challenges.

Casas launched the “Stand With Estela Fund” which is on pace to raise more than a half million dollars to assist other cancer patients. UMC named the “Estela Casas Infusion Center for Hope & Healing” in her honor after Estela pledged $100,000 from the Stand with Estela Fund to UMCF.

“I found my passion in what was very nearly the ultimate personal tragedy,” Casas said. “These last two years, following my diagnosis, I have a new perspective on how I can most effectively serve our community. And I’ve learned I want to do more to help people who might not have all the resources I did in my cancer journey.”

Casas will finish 2019 at KVIA and begin her new role in January.

“Estela is the perfect fit for our foundation and community,” said Jacob Cintron, President and CEO. “We are extremely lucky to have her join our foundation. She has already improved the lives of many in our community through her support of the Estela Casas Infusion Center for Hope & Healing at UMC. Her new role with us will inspire support for innovative and improved healthcare in our community.”

The UMC Foundation is a component organization of the El Paso County Hospital District.

Additionally, Lovell announced that Stephanie Valle is being promoted to primary news anchor. She and Erik Elken will co-anchor ABC-7’s weeknight newscasts at 5, 6 and 10pm. Valle has been part of the ABC-7 news team for eighteen years. She began as an intern in 2001, and spent nearly ten years on the Good Morning El Paso staff.

After starting as a reporter, she was promoted to morning anchor and Executive Producer. In March 2019, Valle was named the station’s News Operations Manager and ABC-7 at Four anchor. She and her husband, Scott, have two children. She completed the El Paso Marathon last February, and is on the board of directors for Candlelighters, an El Paso organization dedicated to serving children with cancer and their families.