US-based healthcare system Driscoll has opened a paediatric cardiology clinic in El Paso, Texas.

The Driscoll Pediatric Cardiology Clinic offers a full range of cardiac care and other services for patients with congenital heart disease and other rare cardiac ailments.

The centre's heart specialities and services include cardiac surgery, cardiology, cardiac cross-sectional imaging cardiac intensive care, cardiac catheterisation electrophysiology, foetal imaging and other medical technologies for paediatric patients.

The facility is located at 1810 Murchison Drive and is part of Driscoll's expansion in West Texas.

The team at the clinic is led by Dr Srinivasarao Badugu, who has more than 20 years of experience in paediatric cardiology.

Before becoming part of the El Paso clinic, Dr Badugu served at El Paso Children's Hospital and Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus-Tenet Healthcare.

The centre's development coincides with the opening of the Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley, which is the area's first designated freestanding children's hospital and the tenth free-standing not-for-profit hospital in Texas.

The Rio Grande Valley facility is equipped with 119 paediatric beds across eight storeys, including 63 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds.

Covering an area of 175,000ft², the hospital features eight surgery suite operating rooms and employs more than 700 staff members.

Its development required a $100m investment, which covered both construction and equipment costs.

The hospital’s construction began in November 2021 to address the future healthcare needs of patients in the Rio Grande Valley area, which has faced shortages of paediatricians in the past.

In addition to these facilities, Driscoll also operates Driscoll Children’s Hospital Corpus Christi and Driscoll Children's Hospital Rio Grande Valley, along with multiple speciality centres and clinics across South Texas.

Driscoll Health Plan, the system's community-based health plan, provides patients in Texas with access to local physicians and critical healthcare benefits.