Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas -- Governor Greg Abbott Sunday announced that the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) is establishing an alternate care site in El Paso to expand hospital capacity in the region. 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."
Additional HHS Resources To Mitigate COVID-19 In El Paso
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) activated additional resources to help combat COVID-19 in the El Paso region. These resources will arrive this week and are based on needs assessments and communication between the local medical community and state and federal officials.
HHS is deploying two 35-person Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) and a Trauma Critical Care Team (TCCT). Additionally, HHS is deploying Regional Emergency Coordinators from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to El Paso and to the Texas State Operations Center to assist with the coordination of federal assets to support this mission.
"Texas is grateful to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for providing these crucial resources and for working alongside state and local officials to combat the spread of COVID-19 in El Paso," said Governor Abbott. "We are working closely with our federal and local partners to meet the needs of the El Paso community and ultimately bring hospitalizations down."
