Caring for Texas and New Mexico Since 1918

Since its humble beginnings in 1918, Covenant Health has led sustained growth and excellence in healthcare for the communities of Lubbock, Texas and Hobbs, New Mexico. Over the past hundred years, caregivers have worked together to build Covenant Health into a place where healing and faith intersect every day.

The facility now known as Covenant Medical Center can be traced to three physicians who established the 25-bed Lubbock Sanitarium in 1918. It became known as Lubbock General Hospital in 1941, Lubbock Memorial Hospital in 1945, and Methodist Hospital in 1954. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange arrived in Texas in 1938 at the invitation of Bishop Lucey to operate a different physician-owned facility, which they renamed St. Mary of the Plains Hospital. In 1998, St. Mary of the Plains Hospital and Lubbock Methodist Hospital System merged to form Covenant Health.

To ensure the future flourishing of the healing ministry they had begun, the Sisters of St. Joseph formed St. Joseph Health System and, in 2008, established a Public Juridic Person called St. Joseph Health Ministries. Further growth occurred in 2016, when Providence Health & Services (founded by the Sisters of Providence) joined with St. Joseph Health (founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange) to establish Providence St. Joseph Health. The health system combines the two systems to strengthen the Mission across seven Western states.

In Texas, St. Mary of the Plains Hospital campus now houses Covenant Children’s Hospital, the region’s only freestanding children’s hospital. In total, Covenant Health comprises a network of 8 hospitals, over 1,000 licensed beds, 6,000 caregivers and a medical staff of more than 600 physicians.

Today, Providence carries forward the legacy of these pioneers by reimagining the future of healthcare delivery and improving the health of individuals and communities across seven Western states. The Providence family of organizations remains rooted in its Mission to serve all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable, and committed to fulfilling its vision of Health for a Better World.