Connecting the Dots Between Rural and Urban Healthcare Delivery w/ Regional Chief Executive - Walt Cathey

Walt Cathey was recently named the Regional Chief Executive of Covenant Health. Covenant Health has served for more than 100 years as the only faith-based, comprehensive health network in the West Texas, eastern New Mexico region. Covenant’s network includes eight hospitals, more than 1,000 licensed beds, over 6,000 caregivers, nearly 100 primary care providers, and a medical staff of more than 600 physicians at its cornerstone facilities. 

Mr. Cathey played a key role in expanding Covenant Medical Center’s outpatient services and launching new joint ventures in rehab and long-term care facilities. He was also instrumental in the acquisition of Grace Health System in 2018. He led the efforts in acquiring two free-standing emergency departments and he has been a leader in developing a continuum of care for our community and region.  As the region’s largest health system, Mr. Cathey believes it is the role and mission of Covenant to provide the best possible care for every one of the 1.2 million people served.  

Mr. Cathey participates and speaks to a variety of groups ranging from the Texas Hospital Association, Texas Tech University’s Occupational Therapy Department and the Professional Research Consultants (PRC) Annual Conference.  He was named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s Rising Stars: 25 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 in 2016. 

He is currently enrolled in the GE Healthcare Fellows program where he connects and networks with other C-Suite leaders from across the country for leadership development, training, and sharing of best practices. Created to prepare senior executives to respond to and manage organizational change, the program equips graduates to drive innovation, lead through collaboration, and practice adaptive and predictive thinking in the ever-changing corporate healthcare environment.

His career at Covenant spans more than 24 years as he moved from rehabilitation aide, to occupational therapist, to executive director, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Medical Center, Chief Executive of the Lubbock market and into his current role as Regional Chief Executive.  

Mr. Cathey graduated from Texas Tech University and has spent nearly 30 years in Lubbock. He is married to Bethany, a speech language pathologist at Covenant Health, and the two of them have two daughters – Kendall, age 15, and Caroline, age 10. They attend Lakeridge United Methodist Church, and he is an avid golfer and Texas Tech sports fan. 

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