Providence Memorial Hospital: An El Paso Institution turns 60

By Joe Olvera ©, 2012

In 1952 El Paso – drive-in theaters were still in vogue, girls wore petticoats and bobby sox to school, cars wore fender-skirts, but, more importantly, El Paso gave birth to a long-lasting institution that focused on El Paso’s health needs – Providence Memorial Hospital.  Thus, for 60 years El Paso’s premier health care center has been taking care of the health needs of El Pasoans, focusing on a variety of services that have helped the hospital grow and have helped keep El Pasoans healthy, wealthy, and wise.

To commemorate its long and successful history, special guests partook of cake and other goodies this May 7^th at what was called the 60^th Anniversary Celebration and National Hospital Week at the hospital’s main center, 2001 N. Oregon Street. The cake was epic, as was the event that honored and recognized the six decades of the hospital’s existence. “We are delighted to celebrate 60 years of commitment to our mission of serving or community’s health care needs in a personal way with compassion and excellence,” said CEO and President Richard Harris.

When Providence Memorial Hospital first opened its doors in 1952, it was the culmination of a vision of many business leaders and a great source of pride for the people of the El Paso, Texas region. This proud medical facility has, since then, been providing the best of care, compassion, and understanding to thousands of El Pasoans.

From the very beginning, Providence Memorial Hospital has been providing such services as general medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics. Among its many awards, the hospital was recently granted the 5-Star rating for three consecutive years from HealtGrades, a leading  source for independent healthcare quality information. Providence has also been recognized with seven straight National Consumer Choice Awards from the National Research Corporation. This award recognizes consumer preference in the areas of Best Image and Best Overall Quality. “Over the past 60 years Providence Memorial Hospital has made tremendous strides in medical technology and the delivery of health care services,” said Harris. “We want to re-establish our Commitment to Excellence for the El Paso community.”