News — El Paso, Texas — Texas Tech Health El Paso’s annual economic impact on our community has grown to $864.2 million, according to new Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business report.
Texas Tech Health El Paso’s annual contribution to the region’s economy increased by nearly $230 million from a previous annual impact of $634.4 million in fiscal year 2021.
The report also showed other Texas Tech Health El Paso impacts both regionally and statewide:
- Total household income created from operations, employees, research, students and university-related visitors: $282.7 million in the region and $420.3 million in the state.
- Total jobs created from operations, employees, research, students and university-related visitors: 4,542 in the region and 5,044 in the state.
- Annual contribution to the Texas workforce by graduates: $418.9 million in the state.
- Return on a state dollar (educational and general), including workforce contribution: $8.76 for every dollar the state invests in Texas Tech Health El Paso.
“This report reaffirms Texas Tech Health El Paso’s critical role in shaping the future of our community, both economically and in terms of health care access,” said President Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A. “Our $864.2 million annual economic impact demonstrates how we’re driving growth and creating opportunities across our region, from job creation to increasing household incomes. Equally important, our commitment to improving health outcomes ensures that underserved communities in West Texas receive the care they need, whether it’s through innovative cancer prevention programs or the compassionate care provided by our Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso. Together, we‘re building a healthier, stronger Borderplex.”
The Texas State Legislature established Texas Tech Health El Paso in 2013 as a component of the Texas Tech University System. Since then, the university has grown as an academic health sciences center, home to the Foster School of Medicine, Hunt School of Nursing, Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Hunt School of Dental Medicine.
Impacting local health care
While Texas Tech Health El Paso increases the number of local jobs and opportunities to advance the West Texas region, it also meets the needs of the most underserved. The university and its clinical practice, Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, serve 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved.
TTP El Paso is the region’s largest multispecialty medical group practice, with over 250 specialists and subspecialists at several locations across the city. TTP El Paso provides more than $33 million of uncompensated care annually and its doctors conduct more than 200,000 clinic visits each year. In 2024, Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso served 126,736 patients, 14% of the county’s population at that time.
Texas Tech Health El Paso and TTP El Paso focus on illness prevention and early intervention. For example, Texas Tech Health El Paso’s prevention teams work to combat cancers prevalent among Hispanics. These programs include the Breast Cancer Education, Screening, and Navigation (BEST) program, Southwest Coalition for Colorectal Cancer Screening (SuCCeSS) program, De Casa en Casa cervical cancer screening program, and the Medical Student Run Clinic’s breast cancer screening program
Additionally, by adding health facilities – like the Foster School of Medicine’s Student Run Clinic in Sparks, Texas – and providing educational outreach, Texas Tech Health El Paso is empowering Borderplex residents to seek and gain access to world-class patient care provided by Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso.
Access to advanced education
In Fall 2024, total enrollment of students and medical residents at Texas Tech Health El Paso was 997, with 412 of those students enrolled from El Paso County.
With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, Texas Tech Health El Paso has graduated over 2,400 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning this spring.
Providing access to advanced education encourages graduates from our border region to work locally as health care providers – a critical need because El Paso County is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area.
Many of Texas Tech Health El Paso’s students are first-generation college students, and the opportunity to pursue a career in health care – right here in their hometown – makes these aspirations more tangible and achievable. The presence of Texas Tech Health El Paso allows students from the Borderplex region to see themselves reflected in the health care field and to envision careers that once felt distant or out of reach.
This "grow our own" approach not only opens doors for students but also helps address the critical need for health care providers in West Texas, ultimately improving access and care for the region’s diverse and historically underserved communities.
Texas Tech Health El Paso is working to address health care provider shortages through an innovative curriculum, early clinical experiences and programs that ensure students enter the workforce shortly after graduation.
The university also provides career opportunities locally through hospital partnerships and 22 medical residency programs across two campuses.
Studies have shown that both medical residents and graduating dental students are likely to establish their careers in proximity to their schools and training sites, making the Foster School of Medicine and Hunt School of Dental Medicine essential to transforming the scope of health care in West Texas. Additionally, up to 90% of graduating Hunt School of Nursing students remain to serve in hospitals throughout the region.
The Future of Cancer Care in El Paso is HERE
The campus continues to grow, both in service and impact. The Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center is set to break ground this year on the Texas Tech Health El Paso campus where hope for cancer patients will take root for generations to come.
In 2023, the Texas legislature approved a $65 million appropriation for the planning and construction of the cancer center. In August 2023, community leaders Steve and Nancy Fox, and their daughters Paige and Ashley, announced a historic $25 million investment to help bring the area’s first comprehensive cancer center to life.
In September 2024, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation announced a transformative $5 million grant to support the cancer center. The grant will be instrumental in elevating comprehensive and compassionate cancer care by funding the recruitment of top-tier cancer specialists.
In November 2024, El Paso County voters approved a $396.6 million bond for our official academic hospital, University Medical Center (UMC) of El Paso. From the bond, $30 million is designated to support the Fox Cancer Center.
When completed, the facility will ensure cancer warriors can receive world class cancer care right here in our region, sparing families the emotional and financial burden of traveling far from home for treatment.
About Texas Tech Health El Paso
Texas Tech Health El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students.
Established as an independent university in 2013, Texas Tech Health El Paso is a proudly diverse and uniquely innovative destination for education and research.
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