El Paso Children’s Hospital earns prestigious Cystic Fibrosis Foundation accreditation

For years, families in the Borderland often had to travel hours to receive specialized care for cystic fibrosis. Today, that care is available close to home.

El Paso Children’s Hospital is now the only Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited Affiliate Care Center in the region, a designation recognizing its ability to provide highly specialized, multidisciplinary care for children living with cystic fibrosis (CF). Accreditation also opens the door to expanded research opportunities that could improve care for future generations. Accredited affiliate centers are recognized for meeting the foundation’s standards for comprehensive, specialized care and participation in the national CF care network.

“Being accredited means that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation recognizes our center as a center that is able to provide highly specialized care for patients with cystic fibrosis,” said Dr. Denease Francis, board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso.

For Salvador, that recognition represents much more than a title.

“We used to have to travel four or five hours to get treatment,” he said.

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a young age, Salvador has received care at El Paso Children’s Hospital since it first opened nearly 15 years ago. When he was 11 years old, he was hospitalized due to complications from cystic fibrosis, and Dr. Francis helped care for him. Today, his journey reflects how advances in treatment have transformed the outlook for many patients.

Dr. Endy Dominguez, board-certified pediatric pulmonologist and chief of the Department of Pediatrics at El Paso Children’s Hospital, explained that cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting multiple organ systems.

“Cystic fibrosis is a condition that basically affects the lungs, the respiratory system and the digestive system. What it does is it creates large amount of thick mucus that will impair the breathing and will create issues with the gastrointestinal movement,” Dominguez said.

Although cystic fibrosis remains a lifelong condition, treatments have advanced dramatically over the past decade.

“There are many different variations of cystic fibrosis, some a lot worse than others. Luckily, I am somewhere in between and with medication and treatment that has come out throughout the years I am a lot better than when I was younger,” Salvador said.

Those medical advances have allowed Salvador to enjoy an active lifestyle without limitations.

“I can be as active as I want to be without any restrictions now. I play tennis almost every day and my condition doesn’t stop me from succeeding in the ways I want to,” he said.

The hospital’s cystic fibrosis program brings together a multidisciplinary team that includes pediatric pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, dietitians, respiratory therapists, social workers, occupational therapists, genetics specialists, and other healthcare professionals, allowing families to receive coordinated care in one location.

“It is a real, comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach in one stop,” Dominguez said.

Dr. Francis said earning accreditation has been years in the making. The clinic spent several years building its program before serving a limited number of patients beginning in 2022. Over the past year, the program has expanded to accept a broader patient population while meeting the rigorous standards required by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Beyond expanding access to specialized care, accreditation positions El Paso Children’s Hospital to participate in research that can help address the longstanding underrepresentation of Hispanic patients in cystic fibrosis studies, ultimately improving care for families across the Borderland.

“Having this accreditation in our community means that it puts them in a position to benefit from research that would improve their healthcare and it just gives you a comfort in knowing that you have a group of providers that are here and are supported by an amazing team and their only goal is to take care of your child,” Francis said.

For Salvador’s mother, Cathleen Banda, the care her son has received has made all the difference.

“We don’t go anywhere else. This is where we prefer and… I just want to thank the doctors here, Dr. Francis, Dr. Dominguez and their team for all they do and their dedication,” Banda said.

For families living with cystic fibrosis in the Borderland, the hospital’s new accreditation means expert, nationally recognized care is no longer hours away, it is available right here at home.

This article is sponsored by El Paso Children’s Hospital.

Learn more at elpasochildrens.org.