A nationwide search is underway for a new CEO for Covenant Health Hobbs. Dan E. Springer, the hospital’s current CEO, is leaving his post with the hospital effective the first week of January 2022.
According to Covenant Health Regional Chief Executive Texas/New Mexico Walter L. Cathey, the Covenant organization will conduct an exhaustive search for Springer’s replacement. Cathey wants Covenant “to become the health care system that people come to for all their health needs. A goal he has set is to make health care more accessible and affordable for the people of West Texas and eastern New Mexico,” states an article posted at HealthLeadersMedia.com. Paramount in choosing the right person to fill Springer’s legacy will be the securing of a person with a like vision.
Springer Going to Spokane, Washington
Springer and his family are leaving Hobbs for Spokane, Washington. In Spokane Springer will assume the role of CEO to the MultiCare Deaconess Hospital. According to its Facebook page, Deaconess was established in 1896 and “is a 307-bed non-profit general medical and surgical hospital. … The hospital has 1,604 employees, and operates a Level III trauma center.”
Before coming to Hobbs, Springer’s career was widespread from Wyoming to Florida and stretched out to the Pacific Northwest and specifically Spokane, where he served as assistant administrator for Spokane’s Valley Hospital, a 123-bed acute-care hospital.
With roots in Spokane, going back there has always been in the back of the minds of Springer and the members of the family. When the opportunity knocked to move back, the family decided to make the move sooner rather than later.
Springer Came to Hobbs in 2019
Springer, who holds a Master’s of Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota, was hired in the spring of 2019 as CEO of the Lea County Regional Medical Center in Hobbs.
On January 1, 2021 Covenant Health acquired the Lea Regional Medical Center, and Springer retained his post as CEO when the 99-bed facility’s name was changed to Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital.
About the transition Springer said, “Covenant Health’s acquisition of Lea Regional Medical Center gives them [Covenant] an immediate, local presence providing inpatient hospital services as part of their commitment to this area. Our caregivers will become part of their organization and Hobbs residents will benefit from continuous access to local healthcare.”
Springer leaves Covenant Health Hobbs in the midst of the construction of the new Covenant Health Hobbs hospital building located at Millen Drive and Lovington Highway. The new 109,000 square foot, 60-bed facility will replace the current Lea Regional Medical Center building and is expected to open in the fall of 2022.
When the move is made from the current hospital to the state-of-the-art new structure, the old building will not sit vacant. It will take on a new image in one form or another. Although the specifics of exactly what the building will become have not been determined, talk is strong that the facility will be molded into a behavioral health center, treating both inpatient and outpatient clients.
