The original vision for Covenant Community Care, a faith-based primary care health clinic hoping to serve the uninsured and underserved community in Southwest Detroit, was communicated from Kathleen Kleinert, D.O. in the summer of 1999. Steadily winning support and gaining traction, Covenant Community Care formed its first corporate board in 2001, with strong support and significant investment from the Evangelical Covenant Church, both locally (Faith Covenant Church, Farmington Hills, Dearborn Evangelical Covenant Church and Messiah Church in Southwest Detroit, and nationwide, represented by Covenant Ministries of Benevolence in Chicago.)The first building site was obtained in 2002 (557 W. Grand Blvd.) and after significant renovation, first opened its doors in the summer of 2003. Many thanks to Dr. Kleinert and her founding vision and faithful service up to the time of her resignation in 2007.
Dr. Lydia Best, M.D. first offered her services as a volunteer provider in 2003. In 2004, Dr. Kleinert recommended that Dr. Best become the lead provider, which led to her becoming the Medical Director, a position that she holds to this day.
In 2007, Covenant Community Care was granted status as a Federally Qualified Health Center, while being allowed to maintain its faith-based identity. This resulted in the appointment of a most visionary and able Executive Director, Paul Propson, who serves presently in this same position.
2008 saw the opening of the dental clinic, with the strong and outstanding area dentist, Tom Storen and the appointment of our first full-time dentist provider, Lynn Eikholt.
Collaborations with Beaumont Hospital resulted in a third site, Covenant Community Health Center, established in south Oakland County on Woodward Avenue. In conjunction with Southwest Solutions, a new state-of-the-art medical and dental facility—more than twice the size and capacity of the original site, has been built and is now open for business at 5716 Michigan Avenue.
2011 also saw the construction and implementation of mobile medical and dental trailers, increasing access and driving down cost to the most needy and underserved areas of the City, in partnership with hundreds of churches sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Today, (Fall 2011), we are located in three sites, (hoping for a fourth) employing 80+ staff and a nearly uncountable number of volunteers, treating nearly 2,100 a month, and wondering what may await us around the next corner, clinging to our original mission statement:
“To show and share the love of God, as seen in the Good News of Jesus Christ, by providing integrated, affordable and quality health care to those who need it most.”