City, state, El Paso Electric funds support job growth at Electronic Caregiver

The Las Cruces community is “coming together as a team, as a city to help you grow,” Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance President and CEO David Lopez said Wednesday morning, July 13, as MVEDA, El Paso Electric (EPE), the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico (CFSNM), the City of Las Cruces and other partners presented a $100,000 check to Electronic Caregiver (ECG).

The money is from EPE’s New Mexico Economic Development Fund “to assist in the creation of 120 new jobs here in Las Cruces,” Lopez said.

It is “a game-changing investment,” said John Hummer, one of EPE’s community advisors on the $20 million fund. MVEDA helps identify projects for funding and CFSNM manages grant funds.

Hummer said he is impressed with the “passion and energy level” at ECG.

“There’s something going on here,” he said.

“We’re doing well, we’re going gangbusters,” said ECG Executive Director John Muñoz, who thanked the community “for embracing what we want to do and our vision.”

ECG has grown from a handful of employees to nearly 300 today and will continue to expand, said ECG founder and CEO Anthony Dohrmann.

Dohrmann said 99 percent of ECG employees are New Mexico State University graduates.

“We couldn’t have put this team together anywhere else in the country,” he said.

“It really does take a village,” said ECG President Joe Baffoe, who came from Chicago at Dohrmann’s request to join the company.

ECG has brought $100 million in investment to Las Cruces and will raise an additional $250 million in the next one-two years, Baffoe said. ECG’s goal is to become the first Fortune 500 company in New Mexico and “the preeminent healthcare company” in the United States and the world.

MVEDA’s role is to identify projects, conducts ROI analysis and due diligence, and then provides a recommendation to the Community Advisors who have final approval. The Community Foundation of Southern NM manages the overall grant dollars for all applicants receiving funding.

ECG’s workforce expansion is also supported by funding from the State of New Mexico Job Incentive Training Program (JTIP) and the City of Las Cruces WagePlus program.

ECG is a digital health technology company founded in 2009.

Visit https://electroniccaregiver.com/.

Electronic Caregiver buys the tower

“We bought it. This is our home,” Electronic Caregiver (ECG) President Joe Baffoe said. “It’s an investment in Las Cruces.”

Baffoe was talking about the Electronic Caregiver Tower, 506 S. Main St.

ECG moved into the tower, 506 S. Main St., in 2017 with 25 employees and has continued to expand its footprint there. Its name has been on the tower for the past three years.

Baffoe said the purchase was completed July 11 for $8.9 million.

The tower, built in 1962, is 120 feet tall (easily the tallest building in Las Cruces) and has 11 stories and 105,000 square feet, Baffoe said.

He said $4.5 million in upgrades have been made to the building in the past five years, and ECG plans more, including an updated lobby, a health and wellness center in the basement and upgraded restrooms.

Baffoe credited Pioneer Bank for its assistance in the purchase. Pioneer President Kiel Hoffman is “the best banker in town,” Baffoe said. “We love them.”

ECG’s footprint also includes the Addison Care building next door to the tower.