UMC CEO Valenti to be reprimanded; County Judge calls for UMC board chair, vice chair resignations

A heated, standing-room only University Medical Center board meeting Friday ended with a reprimand coming to CEO Jim Valenti and the creation of a task force to work on a communications plan.

UMC board chair William Hanson refused to say why Valenti is being reprimanded – whether for his part in the poor relationship with Commissioners Court or for breaking the “gentleman’s agreement” to keep details of the plan for the Children’s Hospital confidential.

Valenti spoke at Commissioner Carlos Leon’s breakfast meeting this week and talked about how the Children’s Hospital could be taken over and run by another party.

An El Paso Children’s Hospital spokeswoman said this week that Valenti spoke out of turn and breached an agreement between the two hospitals when he talked about the hospital’s future.

The board will now seek outside counsel regarding the reprimand.

Valenti spoke to the media after the meeting but did not answer questions.

“I’ve been honored and privileged to serve as CEO for UMC for the past 10 years. I’ll have to wait for the board to come and address at the next meeting,” Valenti told the media after the meeting. “But I think it’s, I’m going to try to be the very best executive that I’ve been throughout my career. And continue to learn from every experience. All I can do is give everyone in this community and my team the very best. And that’s what I’ve done in the past and that’s what I’ll continue to do in the future. It’s an honor and privilege to serve and I’m going to try to be a better executive.”

The task force’s goal will be to build more trust and “restate our commitment to you.”

County Judge Veronica Escobar told ABC-7 the board has to acknowledge they have a problem.

“There has to be a change in leadership,” Escobar said.

Escobar added that she will be asking that Hanson and vice chair Laura Ponce step down “to ensure we are on a path to success.”

Communication has been a big issue between UMC’s board and Commissioners Court.

“This is all so surreal. They’re trying to figure out how to talk to the commissioners court. Maybe talking to us is a start,” Escobar tweeted. “Valenti is talking about various ‘chapters’ for communication. Returning calls and emails would help. The problem with this discussion about a ‘task force’ is that trust is very bad with board members not returning calls or emails to us.”

Hanson appeared to take a shot at politicians early in the meeting.

“We are here to run a hospital, not to run for political office. Please let us do our job.”

Others said it’s not about politics at all, but communication.

“We have an obligation to hold people accountable,” Escobar said at the meeting. “We need to be heard. The only thing we have asked for is honest communication.”

Valenti said, “It is clear I must strengthen my communication with the (Commissioners) court and community.”

Valenti also said, “My first priority is to make sure our hospital is fiscally sound. I will work to strengthen two-way communication.”

“This is all so surreal. They’re trying to figure out how to talk to the commissioners court. Maybe talking to us is a start,” Escobar tweeted. “Valenti is talking about various ‘chapters’ for communication. Returning calls and emails would help. The problem with this discussion about a ‘task force’ is that trust is very bad with board members not returning calls or emails to us.”

People at the meeting told the UMC board how they feel about Valenti’s communication with Commissioners Court, his incentives package, and his work.

“We have made so many improvements in the last 10 years. I wonder what is going to happen if Mr. Valenti is not here,” Dr. Pedro Serrato said at the meeting.

Another topic that was brought up was whether or not UMC would take over El Paso Children’s Hospital.

A pediatric nurse with Children’s says she is concerned if UMC took over the hospital because she does not trust Mr. Valenti.

For ABC-7’s Complete Coverage on UMC, Children’s Hospital, and Valenti, click on the items under Related Content to the left of this article.