Why Refer to Covenant Children's?
We are uniquely qualified to care for children in the West Texas/Panhandle
Plains and Eastern New Mexico Region. We are constantly striving to improve
the pediatric care for patients of region as can be seen in some highlights
of who we are below:
The Region's
first and
only freestanding Children's Hospital
In addition to being licensed by CMS as a Children's Hospital, our
freestanding status means our entire hospital is dedicated to the care
of kids. Many hospital merely offer a smattering of pediatric services
within a larger adult-focused hospital. Hospitals specifically licensed
as Children's Hospitals have to have governance, operational leadership,
and ancillary services that are unique to the children's hospital,
ensuring that resources aren't prioritized to adult services. What
this really means is that we live and breathe children's services
all day, every day. We don't just dabble in it.
We believe in, whenever possible, caring for patients as close to home
as possible
We don't seek to "steal" patients or absorb them into our
system. When there are resources in local communities we try to keep those
kids in their originating community. But when specialty needs exceed the
community's availability, our specialists are available.
In keeping these patients as close to home as possible, we partner with
referring providers. We grant access to ShareVue to allow providers to
view the care provided to their patients by Covenant providers. We want
you to be fully aware of what happened with your patient. And our
physician liaisons/specialists are available for any of your needs such as setting up ShareVue
access, information on Covenant specialists, access issues, or any other
issue you may have with your patient's being seen at Covenant Children's.
The Region's
first and
only dedicated Pediatric Emergency Department with Robust Coverage by Pediatric
Emergency Medicine Physicians
As a freestanding children's hospital, our ED is dedicated to pediatric
patients. We see over 25,000 pediatric emergency visits a year - making
our providers very comfortable dealing with pediatric emergencies.
Furthermore, we are the only facility in our region to staff our emergency
department with robust coverage by Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians.
These specialists are trained to specifically care for kids in the ED.
Unlike other regional facilities, that staff with adult Emergency Medicine
physicians, Residents, and perhaps a pediatrician here or there, our entire
ED staff is dedicated to pediatric care.
The Regions
first and
only level II pediatric trauma program
As a level II pediatric trauma center, we see over 500 pediatric trauma
encounters per year. We have a number of specialists - such as pediatric
trauma surgeons, pediatric orthopedic surgeons, pediatric neurosurgery
physicians, etc. - on-call to respond immediately to any trauma needs.
The Regions
first and
only pediatric and neonatal specialty transport program
Our specialty transport team provides a pediatric RN and RT to safely transport
patients. We have our own dedicated specialty ambulance that can accomodate
two children, mom & baby, etc. We also partner with Aerocare to make
our transport team available via helicopter and plane transport.
Level IV Maternal designation is the
highest level of maternal care
Level IV Maternal Centers are able to care all the needs of mom and baby.
Level IV centers are required to have Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists
who coordinate care for high-risk mothers, onsite intensive care capabilities
for emergent maternal needs, and 24/7 onsite OB/GYNs, among many other
requirements. What this means is you can rest assured we're well equipped
to care for mom and baby, no matter the circumstances
The Region's
first and
only Obstetric Hospitalist program
Our Board-Certified OB Hospitalists are in-house 24/7 to care for our obstetric
patients. This ensures unattributed patients, and patients whose private
physician cannot immediately respond, are seen by an obstetrician. Quality
and safety are always two of our primary foci and our OB Hospitalist program
evolved as we realized we needed OB Hospitalists to provide the best care
possible to the women in our community.
The Region's
first and
only Obstetric Emergency Department
Our Obstetric Emergency Department opened in 2017. It is a first of its
kind for our region. Made possible by our Obstetric Hospitalist Program,
we converted our labor and delivery triage into an obstetric-specific
emergency department. This ensures our maternal patients receive the highest
level of care possible by ensuring they are immediately seen by a board-certified
obstetrician and aren't just triaged by an OB nurse.
Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is the
highest level of NICU care
In 2018, we were designated as a level IV NICU by the State of Texas Department
of State Health Services (TDSHS). This is the highest level of designation
possible and puts Covenant Children's in a group of twenty hospitals
in Texas with a level IV designation. This designation requires a number
of things such as board-certified pediatric anesthesiologists performing
all neonatal cases, access to a number of pediatric surgical specialties, etc.
The Region's
first and
only Children's Hospital Association of Texas member hospital
We are one of eight children's hospitals in Texas that are members
of the Children's Hospital Association of Texas (CHAT). CHAT undertakes
quality initiatives and advocates on behalf of children's health for
the entire state. In fact, our CEO, Dr. Amy Thompson, is the Chair of
CHAT beginning in January 2020.
The Region's
first and
only Solutions for Patient Safety Collaborative member
Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) is a network of 135+ children’s
hospitals who share the vision that no child will ever experience serious
harm while we are trying to heal them. As a SPS participating hospital,
we undertake work around evidence-based bundles to reduce safety events
(CLABSI, CAUTI, Falls, Adverse Drug Events, Pressure Injuries, Readmissions,
SSIs, Unplanned Extubations, VAP, Venous Thromboembolism). Covenant Children's
has been recognized as a SPS Hospital of the Month a number of times for
its work around reducing harm and providing the highest quality of care
to our patients.
The Region's
first and
only Pediatric National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) member
The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) is the premiere
pediatric surgical quality improvement program in the nation. We are 1
of 9 hospitals in Texas and 1 of 141 in the world that participate in
the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Pediatric NSQIP.
We provide surgical data, including 30-day outcomes data, on specific high-risk,
high-volume procedures drawn from six sub-specialty areas. NSQIP then
benchmarks this data and facilitates collaboration among participating
members in order to drive meaningful quality improvement.