Two community leaders interested in Children’s Hospital board

As the El Paso Children’s Hospital enters its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case with vacancies on its board, community members volunteered to help the troubled hospital navigate shaky financial waters.

Four members resigned from the 11-member board last week leaving vacancies to be filled.

“I would not ordinarily feel like I would be a good board member for the Children’s Hospital. I’m not a healthcare expert. But I’m a bankruptcy expert,” said Andy Krafsur, a board certified bankruptcy lawyer and CEO of Spira Footwear.

Krafsur told Chilren’s CEO Mark Herbers that Krafsur is willing to offer his expertise and time to help the hospital. Krafsur oversaw thousands of bankruptcy cases as a bankruptcy trustee in El Paso before he started Spira Footwear. He said bankruptcy of a large organization like Children’s can be astronomically expensive.

“There’s now another layer of expense of very expensive legal talent, and accounting talent and professional fees to try to help us work through this and it’s very scary. This is a large opportunity for professionals to make a lot of money and they have an inherent conflict in trying to do what’s right for their client and making some money and that’s my concern here. I understand how the process works,” Krasfur said.

ABC-7 also confirmed Rick Bonart, DVM, has also sent in his resume to be considered for the Children’s Hospital Board. Bonart was the consumer advocate on the Public Service Board, often taking bold stances. He also recently ran unsuccessfully for City Council.

Bonart declined an interview pending the nomination process.