Governor Greg Abbott has announced that the Texas Division of Emergency Management is establishing an alternate care site in El Paso to expand hospital capacity in the region as coronavirus cases surge.
The facility will provide El Paso with additional hospital beds, medical equipment, and medical personnel to assist with the region's COVID-19 response. Opening this week, the alternate care site will be located at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center and have a capacity of 50 beds and can expand to 100 beds if needed.
Additionally, at the direction of Governor Abbott, TDEM and the Texas Department of State Health Services have deployed auxiliary medical units (AMU) to provide onsite surge capacity for local hospitals. The state is providing a fully-supplied and staffed AMU which can provide up to 100 beds on site at a local hospital. The state has already provided over 900 medical personnel to El Paso, some of which will staff the AMU. The state continues to coordinate with city, county, and hospital officials to provide additional medical staffing, equipment, and bed capacity at their request.
"The alternate care site and auxiliary medical units will reduce the strain on hospitals in El Paso as we contain the spread of COVID-19 in the region," said Governor Abbott. "We continue to work closely with local officials in El Paso and provide resources to reduce hospitalizations, mitigate the spread, and keep the people of El Paso safe."