Thomason Hospital has been rated among the nation's top 100, which can only help attract more physicians and benefit both the new Children's Hospital of El Paso and next-door neighbor Texas Tech medical school.

It's been a goal of this community to boost its health standards and its economy by making El Paso the medical center of the Americas -- a world leader in border health concerns.

And all news has been good news of late:

·  The 2007 State Legislature approved final funding for the medical school. The first class of students in the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine will enroll next year. That educational atmosphere lends itself to health-science research. That should encourage those in the health-care sector to move operations to El Paso.

·  Voters have approved a $120 million bond issue to construct the Children's Hospital of El Paso on the Thomason campus.

·  And now Thomson Healthcare has recognized El Paso's county hospital as "top 100" from the more than 3,000 across the country. Thomson Healthcare is a national health-care information company.

Thomason's rating is based on patient outcomes, patient safety, national treatment standards, efficiency and financial stability.

Now Thomason CEO Jim Valenti has more than just black numbers on paper to back up his claims that Thomason is no longer the tax drain it had been prior to his arrival.

That's because Thomson Healthcare has Thomason in the top 100 partly because of its financial stability.

Thomason was the only hospital in the El Paso region to earn the ranking, which should help it attract more doctors and medical technicians.

The new Children's Hospital is expected to address the city's woeful need for many more pediatricians.

Now Thomason, a Level One trauma center, and a hospital already set for physical upgrades, should be able to attract more physicians in several fields of medicine.