El Paso Children’s Hospital swears in new board

El Paso Children’s Hospital swore in its new board Friday morning.

The chair is Ron Acton, who was chosen by University Medical Center. He, along with Ted Houghton, Patrick Gordon and Miguel Fernandez are the four board members UMC got to choose.

Popular El Paso pediatrician Dr. Stuart Kahn has also joined the board. Former Chairwoman Rosemary Castillo and Dr. Sadhana Chheda are holdovers for now. Both are scheduled to be replaced within the next 10 to 60 days, acton said.

“Did you get the feeling in the room today it was a new beginning?” Acton asked. “I got to tell you, I really did, I really did … and I don’t think it would be surprising to say that sure you enter into a board room and you’re not sure what might happen and the dynamics, but it could not have gone better.”

When UMC and Children’s agreed to a deal in bankruptcy court last month, Castillo announced that Children’s would immediately enter a leadership transition, calling it a “new chapter and new partnership.”

Meanwhile, interim CEO George P. Caralis was also introduced. He will oversee Children’s as it picks a permanent CEO. He worked as a consultant for several hospitals in Detroit. The new board is expected to find his replacement by mid-summer.

Castillo said last month that the new board will work to protect Children’s as an independent, separately licensed hospital, even if it is under the UMC wing.