R.E. Thomason General Hospital - El Paso, Texas

R.E. Thomason General Hospital - El Paso, Texas

The image shows the R.E. Thomason General Hospital in the 1960s. It started as the County Hospital in 1902. It was located in a two-story building on Smelter Rd (today's Paisano Street) at old Ft. Bliss. Back in those early days there was urgent need for hospital beds in the city. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, tuberculosis spread rapidly in the United States. The Southwest, including El Paso, was considered ideal for the treatment of TB because of its dry, warm climate. It attracted patients from all over the country between the 1880s and the 1940s. The completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1881 encouraged tuberculars to come west. During this period, many sanatoriums and hospitals opened to treat tuberculars and this deadly disease helped establish El Paso as a health center. The County Hospital became El Paso General Hospital when it moved east in 1915, to a new facility at 4815 Alameda, the site of today's Thomason. In the 1950’s, El Pasoans voted to create the El Paso County Hospital District. By doing so, they agreed to tax themselves to ensure that quality healthcare services would be available in the city, especially for its neediest residents. The hospital was re-named R. E. Thomason General Hospital, in honor of the city's former Mayor, U.S. Congressman and Federal Judge, Mr. Robert Ewing Thomason. In 1963, a new hospital was built, which became University Medical Center of El Paso in 2009. The Thomason Tower reminds of Thomason's legacy. It still is the city’s only not-for-profit, community hospital. Texas Tech arrived in El Paso in 1973 and affiliated with it. Thomason became the University's primary teaching hospital, heralding the start of academic medicine in the El Paso community. Since then, students of other universities and colleges do their clinical training on this campus, too. Name has changed to University Medical Center circa 2014.

Area: Central / San Juan

Source: El Paso County Medical Society

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Evergreen cementery

Evergreen cementery in 4301 Alameda Ave, El Paso, TX 79905

Evergreen cementery

Evergreen cementery in 4301 Alameda Ave, El Paso, TX 79905

Bassett Place

The Bassett Place is a shopping Mall at 6101 Gateway Blvd W. It ...

Bassett Place

The Bassett Place is a shopping Mall at 6101 Gateway Blvd W. It ...

Spectrum

Spectrum - 5900 Gateway Blvd E, El Paso, TX 79905

R.E. Thomason General Hospital - El Paso, Texas

The image shows the R.E. Thomason General Hospital. It started ...

Ross Middle School Football

Captains of the Ross Rebels 8th grade team.

Burges Mustang Football

Wide Receiver #18 Matthew Amézaga for the grab in the end zone.

Artist Carlo Enrique Flores at work Circa 1979

Local El Paso artist Carlos Enrique Flores working on a portrait ...

Mother and Son at the San Juan Community Center

The wife and son of local El Paso artist Carlos Enrique Flores ...

Vote For Oscar Leeser - 2013

Photograph taken at the San Juan Senior Center, El Paso, Texas. ...

San Juan Senior Center Director - El Paso, Texas

1980's Dance for the Senior Center in El Paso, Texas

Candela Group

El Paso Candela Group performs in nursing homes.

Marine Sgt. Jesus Roberto Vasquez - 1959

Jesus Roberto during his younger years before attending ...

Tom McKay's 82nd Birthday Party - 2016

Thomas Mckay celebrating his 82nd birthday party at the famous ...

home.search_collection