County Commissioners, UMC and El Paso Children’s Hospital reach agreement

The bitter bankruptcy battle between El Paso Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center and El Paso County may be coming to an end.

Late Monday, El Paso Children’s confirmed its board approved the terms proposed by the county hospitals and commissioners.

County Commissioners and University Medical Center’s board of managers discussed the terms behind closed doors Monday afternoon, then approved them.

“Both sides want whats best for their hospital, we do too,” said UMC Spokesman Ryan Mielke. “We want what’s best for the taxpayers. But there’s comes a time when you have to compromise and I think that’s what we found.”

The details of the deal have not been disclosed, though county commissioners provided some insight.

“We’re not going to have a UMC department,” said Commissioner David Stout. “We’re going to have a hospital that while it will be partnering with UMC, as autonomous as possible. It will have its own board and its own CEO. I mean of course there will be some accountability to the taxpayer and commissioners court. “

“We’re very interested in as quickly as possible bringing all this to closure so we can focus on bringing stability to the organization, coming up with business plans for the future,” said Judge Veronica Escobar.

It is a new set of terms that a UMC spokesman said is significantly different than previous versions.

The Children’s Hospital board also met Monday. Hours after saying no comment would be made until Wednesday, the board issued this statement:

“EPCH is in receipt of the negotiation points that UMC and CCC [County Commissioners Court] have approved and submitted to the EPCH Board, which would form the basis of a consensual approach between the parties under a joint plan resulting in EPCH’s emergence from bankruptcy. The EPCH board has reviewed and approved the points and will now await a more detailed documentation to be prepared by the attorneys this week and signed by all parties in order to implement the agreement.”

The Children’s hospital filed for bankruptcy in May after it stopped paying for rent and services to its providers. After multiple negotiation sessions and a lawsuit alleging UMC, its landlord, had forced it to sign lopsided agreements, the two hospitals were at an impasse.

UMC proposed multiple times to take over the financially troubled hospital. The Children’s hospital and its doctors refused, maintaining they must remain an independent hospital in order to fulfill its mission.

Tune in to ABC-7 at 9 on the CW and ABC-7 at Ten for the latest details.