How Covenant Health is expanding access to stroke and cancer research in the vast region of West Texas
2025 marked several exciting milestones for Covenant Health’s efforts to expand access to cancer and stroke research in the western part of the U.S.’s second-most populous state. By launching a new stroke research team with support from Providence’s central research office and joining the Texas Clinical Trials Network, our researchers and caregivers are positioned to help more Texans across this vast, diverse region participate in clinical research.
Read on to learn more about these initiatives.
Expanding access to stroke research
Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock is the only Comprehensive Stroke Center in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, offering 24/7 specialized care for complex stroke cases. Recognizing the need to improve access to clinical trials in the region, where patients have historically had to travel long distances to participate in stroke-related research, Covenant partnered with Providence’s Nexus program to build the infrastructure and bring on the staff needed to offer such trials. Nexus is an internal initiative that helps Providence-affiliated sites across our seven-state network participate in major studies.
This effort has already delivered real-world results, with the Center now participating in the NIH-supported Captiva study and Janssen Research & Development’s Librexia-Stroke study, plus several additional studies in planning.
“As a relatively small team here at Covenant Medical Center, we are incredibly proud and excited to expand access to clinical stroke research in West Texas—especially in an area where people previously had to drive for many hours to access clinical trials,” said Sarah Hancock, Neuroscience Manager, Covenant Health. “We look forward to building on this progress to bring even more stroke and neuroscience research opportunities to the communities we serve.”
Advancing cancer research through collaboration
Last year saw the Covenant Health Joe Arrington Cancer Research & Treatment Center in Lubbock team up with a growing network of cancer researchers known as the Texas Clinical Trials Network. This Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)-funded initiative is working to make cutting-edge cancer research available in more Texas communities, including those that have historically lacked access to the latest research and clinical trials.
Covenant's participation in the network is helping enhance the visibility of cancer research across Texas, fostering stronger relationships with clinical trial sponsors, and increasing oncology clinical trial availability in West Texas. In 2024-2025 the network as a whole activated 28 trials, with more on the horizon.
These efforts illustrate some of the many ways the Providence Research Network is leveraging its reach and local presence across seven states to ensure more people—regardless of geography—can benefit from the latest advances in care, discovery and healing.
To learn more about research at Providence, visit:
The Providence Research Network blog for news and stories
Providence Experts to learn about our researchers
Providence Digital Commons for peer-reviewed papers, presentations and more
ClinicalTrials.Providence.org to search for active clinical trials
