UMC announces new Chief Medical Officer

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)- The University Center of El Paso has announced Victor Waters, MD, JD, FCLM, as the new Chief Medical Officer for UMC.

According to UMC, Dr. Waters has more than 35 years of experience in internal and emergency medicine is board certified in Internal Medicine and Legal Medicine.

Jacob Cintron, President & CEO of the El Paso County Hospital District says, “Dr. Waters brings a remarkable combination of clinical expertise, leadership experience and legal insight, with a proven record of excellence at Level 1 trauma centers nationwide.”

UMC says that Dr. Waters joins UMC following the retirement of Dr. Joel Hendryx., who provided leadership to the community over the years including during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the August 3rd, 2019 mass shooting.

“I was drawn to University Medical Center and the El Paso community because of the organization’s strong, stable leadership and its clear commitment to serving a highly complex and diverse population,” Waters said.

According to UMC, Dr. Waters recently served as the chief medical officer for Dignity Health Arizona's West Valley and West Gate markets, where he led St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, a Level I trauma center and teaching hospital. He also co-chaired the hospital's extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program. UMC says this experience is valuable due to UMC being the first in the region and ECMO program which was implemented in 2025.