History, Mission, Vision, Facts and Statistics

History

Covenant Health System is a member of St. Joseph Health System, one of the most successful not-for-profit health systems in the United States. It was founded in 1998 through the merger of two of Lubbock's most venerable heath care facilities, St. Mary of the Plains Hospital and Lubbock Methodist Hospital System.

St. Mary Hospital was founded in 1937 as the 10-bed Plains Hospital and Clinic, becoming St. Mary of the Plains Hospital in 1939, when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, California, purchased the facility. Today, St. Mary of the Plains Hospital is known as Covenant Medical Center–Lakeside.

The facility now known as Covenant Medical Center began as the 25-bed Lubbock Sanitarium in 1918. The facility became known as Lubbock General Hospital in 1941, then Lubbock Memorial Hospital in 1945. In 1954, it became Methodist Hospital.

Mission

To extend Christian ministry by caring for the whole person—body, mind and spirit—and by working with others to improve health and quality of life in our communities.

Vision

We believe that to put our mission into practice we must provide the best possible care to all our patients. That means following proven, standardized practices throughout the system, focusing on evidence-based medicine and tracking and reporting outcomes. We work to nurture a culture of safety and expect to rank at the top of our class in providing an exceptional patient experience and successful treatment.

We believe that every interaction—whether it involves Covenant staff, our patients or their families—is a sacred encounter. We come together to provide compassionate care and contribute to the overall good health of the people we serve. We believe that each of the communities we serve should be among the healthiest in the United States, and we are committed to improving access to care.

Our core values are: Dignity, Service, Excellence and Justice.

Facts and Statistics

Covenant Health System is the largest health care institution in the West Texas and Eastern New Mexico region.

Geographic information: Serves a 62-county area with a population of more than 1.2 million people.

Facilities: Three cornerstone facilities, plus a network of 14 leased and managed community hospitals, including Covenant Hospital Levelland and Covenant Hospital Plainview, 20 Covenant Healthcare Centers and Family Healthcare Centers, four mobile coaches and two ECHO/PV vans go out in the community to bring services to the medically underserved.

Our three cornerstone facilities combined—Covenant Medical Center, Covenant Medical Center–Lakeside and Covenant Children’s Hospital—have:

  • 1,103 licensed beds
  • More than 5,000 employees
  • More than 600 admitting physicians
  • 497-patient average daily census
  • 38,000 annual admissions 
  • Over 100,000 annual Emergency Room visits

Community Benefit:

  • Provided $59 million in community health and education services in 2007 (includes care for the underinsured).
  • Total regional impact of $1.2 billion annualy for the greater Lubbock region
  • Ongoing operations sustain 12,600 jobs annually
  • Total economic impact includes an annual household earnings/salaries impact of $500 million
  • Employees contribute more than $500,000 per year to United Way
  • 422,630 employee volunteer hours to community in 2007