The history of Lovelace Health System begins in the 1880s when missionaries and philanthropists from the Midwest extended their mission of caring to Albuquerque. In 1901, they built the city's first hospital and a year later, they opened a sanitarium to care for the growing ranks of tuberculosis patients seeking health in the high, dry air of Albuquerque. In 1913, a young doctor named William Randolph Lovelace moved his frontier practice to the city. Before long he was renowned for his skill as a surgeon and his extraordinary compassion for his patients. Joined by Dr. Edgar T. Lassetter and eventually by other physicians, Dr. Lovelace modeled his pioneering group practice, the Lovelace Clinic, after Minnesota's respected Mayo Clinic. World War II changed life in unimaginable ways, spurring technological, social and economic growth in the American West - and demanding a new vision for the delivery of health care. With medicine rapidly advancing, ace pilot and decorated veteran Dr. Randy Lovelace followed in his uncle's footsteps, joining the Lovelace Clinic in 1946. He had already made a name for himself in the field of aviation medicine. As a fellow in surgery at the Mayo Clinic, he worked on the development of the BLB mask, which delivered oxygen to aviators flying at high altitudes. In fact, the "L" in BLB stands for Lovelace. In the late 1950s, at the height of the Cold War, a new federal agency called NASA announced its first major undertaking: Project Mercury, which would launch the first national manned space capsule into orbit around the earth. Rigorous testing at Lovelace Medical Center narrowed the field to a handful of men who would be known to history as the Mercury 7. Today, Lovelace Health System is recognized as a force for economic vitality in New Mexico as well as a provider of high-quality care to residents of the state. Leading change has always been part of the Lovelace mission. Today, the Lovelace passion for change, innovation and caring lives on in our commitment to advanced medical technology, patient convenience and high-quality health care. Lovelace Health System is comprised of Lovelace Medical Center, Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center, New Mexico Heart Institute, Lovelace UNM Rehabilitation Hospital, Lovelace Women's Hospital, Lovelace Westside Hospital, Lovelace Regional Hospital and Lovelace Medical Group.
