El Paso County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team trains at property owned by Del Sol Medical Center

As part of its commitment to public safety, Del Sol Medical Center recently allowed the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team to use the vacant houses it owns directly behind the hospital to train for real-world crises.

“We purchased these homes for future facility expansion so that we may continue to serve the growing healthcare needs in El Paso,” David Shimp, chief executive officer of Del Sol Medical Center, said. “When the opportunity to serve the community in this way presented itself, we were pleased to partner with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office to provide the location for this important training.”

Both SWAT and Del Sol Medical Center personnel went door-to-door to notify nearby homeowners of the upcoming training to ensure they wouldn’t be startled by the noise or alarmed by the officers’ presence.

Once the SWAT team completed its drills, Del Sol Medical Center began demolishing the houses as part of the first phase of the expansion project. The area will eventually become a parking lot for patients, physicians, staff and visitors.

Learn more about the training from El Paso Times.