Economic Impact
The Texas State Legislature established TTUHSC El Paso in 2013 as a component of the Texas Tech University System. Since then, the university has grown as an academic health sciences center, home to the Foster School of Medicine, Hunt School of Nursing, Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Hunt School of Dental Medicine.
TTUHSC El Paso Contributes More Than $634 Million Annually to the Regional Economy
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s impact on the community has grown, according to a Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business report.
In the report, “Economic Impacts of Texas Tech University System and Component Institutions,” TTUHSC El Paso’s contribution increased from a previous economic impact of $227 million annually to $634.4 million, contributing to El Paso’s status as a top 20% performing economy in the U.S.
The report also showed other TTUHSC El Paso impacts both regionally and state-wide:
Total household income created from operations, employees, research, students and university-related visitors: $212.8 million in the region and $289.3 million in the state.
Total jobs created from operations, employees, research, students and university-related visitors: 3,813 in the region and 4,144 in the state.
Annual contribution to the Texas workforce by graduates: $383.6 million in the state.
Return on a state dollar (educational and general), including workforce contribution: $12.46 for every dollar the state invests in TTUHSC El Paso.
“I’m proud of TTUHSC El Paso’s contribution to local and state economies, but even more so because of the opportunities we’ve provided for hard-working families in our community,” said TTUHSC El Paso President Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A. “From our faculty and staff to our students and alumni, we have a growing group of talented individuals who are dedicated to making a difference in our community.”
The Texas State Legislature established TTUHSC El Paso in 2013 as a component of the Texas Tech University System. Since then, the university has grown as an academic health sciences center, home to the Foster School of Medicine, Hunt School of Nursing, Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Hunt School of Dental Medicine.
Impacting local health care
While TTUHSC El Paso increases the number of local jobs and opportunities to advance the West Texas region, it also meets the needs of the most underserved. The university and its clinical arm, Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, serve 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. The clinics provide more than $31 million of uncompensated care annually, while doctors conduct more than 200,000 clinic visits each year.
TTUHSC El Paso and TTP El Paso focus on illness prevention and early intervention. For example, TTUHSC El Paso’s prevention teams work to combat cancers prevalent among Hispanics, and have enrolled 32,500 uninsured or underinsured residents in screening programs. This has resulted in the discovery of 39 cases of breast cancer and 30 colorectal cancers. Programs at the university also provide no-cost HPV vaccines to residents at 175 community sites throughout West Texas.
Additionally, by adding health facilities – like the Foster School of Medicine’s Student Run Clinic in Sparks, Texas – and providing educational outreach, TTUHSC El Paso is empowering Borderplex residents to seek and gain access to world-class patient care provided by TTP El Paso.
Access to advanced education
In Fall 2021, total enrollment of students and medical residents at TTUHSC El Paso was 1,057, with 362 of those students enrolled from El Paso County. Since 2012, the university has graduated 1,851 physicians, nurses and biomedical researchers. Providing access to advanced education encourages graduates from the border region to work locally as health care providers – a critical need because El Paso County is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area.
TTUHSC El Paso is working to address health care provider shortages through innovative curriculum, early clinical experiences and programs that ensure students enter the workforce shortly after graduation. The university also provides career opportunities locally through hospital partnerships and 22 medical residency programs across two campuses.
Studies have shown that both medical residents and graduating dental students are likely to establish their careers in proximity to their schools and training sites, making the Foster School of Medicine and Hunt School of Dental Medicine essential to transforming the scope of health care in West Texas. Additionally, up to 90% of graduating Hunt School of Nursing students remain to serve in hospitals throughout the region.
Diversifying the workforce
In addition to contributing to the health care workforce, TTUHSC El Paso is also diversifying it – locally and nationwide – and continues doing so by providing advanced educational opportunities for minority students.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education recognized TTUHSC El Paso as a Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), making it one of three health sciences centers in the nation to receive this designation.
As the only health sciences center along the U.S.-Mexico border, TTUHSC El Paso is educating large percentages of Hispanic students to meet the needs of the region, which will also have a broad impact in the U.S. as Hispanics are expected to account for 25% of the population in just over a decade.
Nationwide, only 5.8% of active physicians identified as Hispanic as of July 1, 2019, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Currently, 48% of the student body at TTUHSC El Paso is Hispanic, and in 2021, 64% of its graduates were Hispanic.
Representation of minorities in the health care field empowers patients to ask questions about their health, strengthens patient-provider trust, reduces language barriers and encourages follow-up appointments for ongoing conditions.
Having an HSI in the region also inspires local students to explore the opportunity to attend medical, dental or nursing school, and TTUHSC El Paso creates opportunities for them to do just that.
“As we provide health care to the underserved and prepare successful and compassionate health care leaders, we will continue impacting the region and communities far beyond county lines,” Dr. Lange said. “I look forward to the continued growth of our university because it means we will have more opportunities to positively impact generations of West Texans.”