Lubbock, Texas-based Covenant Health is celebrating its centennial with a series of events that began with a public reception in November and conclude with a Centennial Ball in December.
As part of its centennial celebration Covenant Health is encouraging people to loan or donate historical artifacts connected with its facilities, for a historical display. Already on hand are a 1926 annual report of Lubbock Sanitarium, a 1936 child care guide book written by a prominent sanitarium physician, a 1938 uniform from the sanitarium's nursing school and a 1939 nursing degree from that school.
This 1941 photo shows Lubbock General Hospital, which had previously been named Lubbock Sanitarium. The sanitarium was the first facility in what would become Covenant Health.
Covenant Health's network serving West Texas and Eastern New Mexico includes seven hospitals, more than 1,100 beds, more than 5,000 employees and more than 600 staff physicians. In February, Covenant Health acquired Grace Health System, which includes Grace Medical Center and Grace Clinic in Lubbock. Covenant Health also is in the midst of $450 million in construction and renovation work at multiple locations.
The system traces its origins to 1918, when three doctors founded Lubbock Sanitarium. That facility underwent multiple name changes, including in 1954 when the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church assumed ownership and the facility became Methodist Hospital. In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, Methodist Hospital completed mergers that expanded its presence to nearby Levelland and Plainview.
In 1998, Methodist Hospital merged with St. Mary of the Plains, a facility the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange acquired in 1939.
The Methodist–St. Mary's merged organization assumed the Covenant Health name upon the deal's completion.