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Covenant’s History
The story of Covenant Community Care is the story of a promise.
In the late 1990s, a medical doctor approached a pastor in southwest Detroit and asked about healthcare access. He told her about his congregants and neighbors who lacked health insurance. From that day on, the doctor promised to treat any uninsured person sent to her free-of-charge from her private practice. The community rallied behind her pledge and in January 2000 the first board of directors formed.
The organization officially received 501(c)(3) designation, serving patients as a free health clinic. It was a team effort from the beginning, with local organizations contributing as they were able.
Covenant obtained its first building on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. Leadership added dental services in 2005, and for the next several years the free clinic served thousands of people in the neighborhood; when times were financially tough, dozens of volunteers from healthcare and administrative professions kept the doors open.
Covenant’s leaders applied for and received Federally Qualified Health Center status and opened the door to Health Resources Services Administration funding. Covenant entered a new era of growth and service to the Detroit community after becoming an FQHC and has collaborated with partners to increase healthcare access for Metro Detroiters through the renovation and development of a health center
- in Royal Oak, MI in 2010
- in southwest Detroit in 2011
- on the eastside of Detroit in 2013
- on Detroit’s Westside in 2014
- in Westland, MI in 2019
2020 was a year of major challenge and change for Covenant.
In March, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down a sizable portion of our operation, including in-person medical (except for our Michigan Avenue clinic for emergency care), dental, and behavioral healthcare.
Interim CEO Joslyn Pettway navigated Covenant through the challenge and in June accepted the official CEO role.
In July, our clinics opened back up, and, in certain ways, our team had to re-learn how to care and support patients as COVID-19 spread leading to sickness and death for many people in our community.
