Investing, Collaborating, and Transforming Lives: Celebrating 30 Years of Health Education and Disease Prevention in the Paso del Norte Region

For 30 years, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation has been dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the residents of our binational, tri-state region.

Guided by the vision of our founding Board of Directors, we have empowered individuals and communities with the knowledge, resources, and environments they need to live happy, healthy, and productive lives.

Established in 1995 with $130 million from the sale of Providence Memorial Hospital to Tenet Healthcare Corporation, the Foundation has grown into a driving force for positive change. Successive Boards of Directors have remained committed to our mission: leading, investing in, and supporting initiatives and policies that build healthier communities in El Paso and Hudspeth counties in west Texas, southern New Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Over the next 12 months, we are excited to highlight the impact we have made investing, collaborating, and transforming lives, together.

We are deeply grateful to our board members, staff, grantees, and community partners whose dedication has created lasting change in health and well-being. Together, we celebrate this shared legacy and remain committed to improving the health and quality of life for the people we serve today and into the future.

How We Started: Assessing Regional Health

It’s remarkable to see how far our region has progressed in the last 30 years. In 1995, many of the healthcare assets we rely on today simply did not exist. Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, which once only served 3rd and 4th year medical students arriving from Lubbock, has transformed into Texas Tech Health El Paso—a freestanding health sciences center with a 4-year medical school, residencies, fellowships, nursing and dental schools, increased psychiatric programs and services, a biomedical sciences school, and a new cancer center.

Local healthcare providers have greatly expanded their reach. The University Medical Center, The Hospitals of Providence, Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare, Federally Qualified Health Clinics, and FEMAP/SADEC have grown their facilities, outpatient clinics, programs, and services. Mountain View Hospital began serving Las Cruces, while Emergence Health Network added walk-in crisis care and extended observation unit.

New healthcare institutions have emerged, including the El Paso Children’s Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, VA Mental Health Clinic, Rio Vista Behavioral Health Hospital, and the Medical Center of the Americas.

Higher education also grew significantly. In 1995, the University of Texas at El Paso offered five PhD programs. Today, it has 26, including a Doctorate in Pharmacy. The UT Houston School of Public Health in El Paso, once in its infancy, is now a thriving campus. The region has welcomed the Burrell School of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces and FEMAP Nursing School in Cd. Juarez.

Our region also gained vital health insurance options, including El Paso Health, the statewide Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage.

The challenges we faced in 1995 were also significant. Over 100,000 people in El Paso and Doña Ana counties—and hundreds of thousands more in Ciudad Juárez—lacked basic utilities like water, sewer services, or adequate heating and cooling in their homes. According to the Health Foundation’s 1996 El Paso Health Report:

• Smoking rates exceeded 21.5%.
• Binge drinking rates topped 18.1%.
• Only 10% of residents consumed the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.
• 75% of the population didn’t get enough exercise.
• Nearly half of El Paso residents lived without health insurance.
• Teen pregnancy rates were near double digits.
• Poverty and limited access to education contributed to high rates of chronic and infectious diseases.

From these stark beginnings, we’ve witnessed tremendous growth and progress, laying the foundation for a healthier and more hopeful future for our region.

How We Responded: Investing in Health Education and Disease Prevention

Over the past 30 years, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation has addressed health disparities through collaboration, strategic grantmaking, impactful messaging, policy advocacy, and leadership support. Since its inception, the Health Foundation has invested over $266 million in grants and charitable expenses with more than 300 nonprofit, government, and academic partners. Below are highlights of the transformative work we’ve accomplished together:

Increasing Physical Activity

• Walk El Paso Walk: Mobilized sedentary populations with the Walk El Paso Walk campaign, walking groups, and events, inspiring similar programs like Walk Doña Ana, Walk Otero, and Camino Juárez.
• Step It Up: Encouraged moderately active adults to exercise more frequently, for longer durations, or with greater intensity in collaboration with the American Cancer Society.

• Paso del Norte Trail and Las Cruces Trails: Supported a master plan for a 70-mile trail across El Paso County, with over 20 miles completed and 28 more miles in development, helping make physical activity an easy and accessible choice. Additional trail segments were supported in Las Cruces. Improving Healthy Eating

• Que Sabrosa Vida: Promoted healthy eating habits through cooking demonstrations that embraced the rich cultural traditions of the regional diet.

• School and Community Gardens: Developed more than 125 school gardens, teaching the importance of nutrition and fruit and vegetable consumption through hands-on education. Supporting School and Community Health Education Programs and Resources

• CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health):Partnered with over 100 public, private, and parochial schools to promote healthy eating and physical activity among 80,000+ elementary students and families. Over time, results showed moderate to vigorous physical activity increased from 30% to 53% in third, fourth, and fifth grade students and reductions in obesity in fourth and fifth graders. El Paso led the way with CATCH, now a model health program across Texas.
• Clinic HELP (Health Education and Lifestyle Promotion): Partnered with indigent clinics to support health education programs focusing on behavior changes like diet, exercise, stress management, and tobacco cessation.
• Healthy Paso del Norte/Healthy Communities: Collaborated with nine community health councils to set health and wellness goals and implement programs for healthier communities.
• Center for Border Health Research: Provided seed grants to faculty to address health outcomes for the Hispanic population and ensure a coordinated research agenda.
• Ageless Health: Expanded volunteer-based initiatives to support healthy living and prevent isolation for adults 60 and older, including the well-known Golden Age Fitness Program at UTEP.
• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Enrollment: Partnered with Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe and YWCA Paso del Norte Region to enroll more than 28,000 children in CHIP.
• PHIX Health Information Exchange (PHIX): Established a nonprofit organization to improve healthcare delivery through shared electronic health data.

• Regional SHAC: Convened school health advisory councils to advocate for student health and wellness policies and practices. Improving Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being

• El Paso Behavioral Health Consortia, LC3 in Las Cruces, Rotmenas in Cd. Juárez: Convened hundreds of organizations through regional consortia to expand mental health access, addressing justice system needs, services for children and families, and integration into primary care.

• Think.Change: Awarded grants to nonprofits and governmental entities to reduce mental illness stigma, supporting Crisis Intervention Teams and Mental Health First Aid Programs. Investing in Healthy Kids

• Begin at Birth!: Improved the health and safety of children ages 0–3 through caregiver education, fatherhood engagement, and the promotion of high childcare standards. Newborn calendars with health tips were provided to all hospitals in the region to distribute to new parents. The initiative also addressed child abuse and neglect prevention.
• Baby Café: Founded the El Paso Café, the nation’s second space for nursing mothers to gather, feed their babies, and receive support, with UMC and Texas Tech Medical School, to improve breastfeeding success. It included a Breastfeeding Advice Line and UMC’s Baby-Friendly Hospital designation.
• Two Should Know/It Takes Two: Provided education to reduce unintended pregnancies, STDs, and sexual violence while promoting healthy sexuality.

• Borderland Out of School Time (BOOST) Network: Improved the quality and reach of out-of-school time programs for youth in collaboration with United Way of El Paso County. The Foundation funds nonprofits serving disconnected youth (ages 5–17) not engaged in out-of-school activities or work. Advancing Smoke-Free Policies and Vaping Awareness

• Smoke-Free Paso del Norte: Significantly reduced smoking rates with the adoption of El Paso’s 2001 Clean Indoor Air Ordinance, the first in Texas to ban indoor smoking. The collaborative effort has since expanded to include outdoor spaces and vaping and has been adopted by regional municipalities, HOME communities, UTEP, and EPCC. Smoking rates dropped to 11%, reducing lung disease.

• Vape-Free Paso del Norte: Working to reduce vaping among youth by educating parents and caregivers. With 1 in 4 youth consistently using vaping devices, the campaign includes skill-building resources and active social media campaigns. Increasing Resources to Prevent and Manage Diabetes

• Diabetes Awareness Campaigns: Educated thousands about diabetes prevention and management through campaigns like “Diabetes: Signs and Symptoms” and “Diabetes: Now What?” Includes an online risk test linked with resources to support those who may have diabetes but are not yet diagnosed.

• Diabetes Education: Funded regional programs to expand access to Diabetes Prevention and Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME). Investing in Leadership Development

• REALIZE Executive Leadership Program: Delivered a state-of-the-art leadership development program designed to equip nonprofit and health leaders with transformational leadership skills. To date, 96 leaders from El Paso and Southern New Mexico, and 55 from Ciudad Juárez, have completed the program.

• REALIZE Board Leadership Program: Developed the skills of nonprofit board members through partnerships with United Way and Fundación Paso del Norte. Growing Health Occupations

• Hunt School of Dental Medicine: Invested $11 million in the creation of the first new dental school in the U.S. in 50 years. The first class of 40 dental students, including 17 from West Texas, will graduate in May 2025.
• Texas Tech Foster School of Medicine: Funded forgivable loans for medical students establishing practices in El Paso.
• UTEP Nursing Simulation Lab: Invested in state-of-the-art clinical training for nursing and allied health students.
• EPPIC Psychology Internship Program: A collaborative program designed to provide comprehensive training for doctoral interns in psychology. Since 2014, the program has supported 44 students and continues today.

• UTEP Doctorate in Pharmacy: Supported the establishment of a PharmD program to keep pharmacy students in the region. Supporting Community Resilience

• Reduce the Risk Campaign: Mobilized 75+ community health workers during COVID-19 to promote vaccinations in hard-to-reach populations.
• One Fund El Paso: Supported the provision of direct financial assistance for victims and families of the August 3rd mass shooting.

Our Future: Long-Term Vision and Commitment

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation has led transformative health initiatives over the past 30 years, thanks to the leadership of our Boards of Directors, the dedication of our staff, and the collaboration of grantees and community partners.

As we look to the future, we know there are still significant health challenges facing the residents of our region – from high rates of diabetes and mental illness to lack of access to health insurance and healthcare providers. We want to make healthy living the easy choice for everyone.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to our core values of leadership, collaboration, integrity, inclusion, and stewardship. These values guide us as we work with partners and stakeholders to fulfill the inspiration behind our three-part logo:

• Three colors: Represent the colors of the flags of our binational, tri-state region, underscoring the importance of a regional approach to health.
• Three people: Symbolize our dedication to mind, body, and spirit.
• Connected people: Reflect our strengths in governance excellence, stewardship of investment assets, and strategic support for community health programs.

We are proud to serve the community alongside our sister organizations—the Paso del Norte Community Foundation and Fundación Paso del Norte—established in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Together, we leverage resources to amplify our impact, collectively investing over $383 million in grants and charitable expenses, in addition to the Health Foundation’s $266 million in awards.

While we celebrate the milestones we’ve achieved, we recognize there is still much work ahead. Recent external investments, such as a generous $15 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, have strengthened our ability to do even more for our region.

We invite you to join us in creating a culture of health for all by:

• Taking advantage of the many programs and services provided by our partners in health, and
• Making a gift of any size to the Paso del Norte Health Foundation by clicking here.

Thank you for your generosity, leadership, and collaboration. Together, we can build a healthier future for our region.