Lea Regional Medical Center was originally opened in 1974 by Humana with 180 licensed beds and called Llano Estacado Medical Center. In 1979, HCA purchased the facility and renamed it Lea Regional Hospital. HCA owned the facility from 1979 until 1994. In 1994, HCA merged with Columbia Hospital Corp. creating Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. who was the owner until 1999. In May of 1999, Columbia/HCA spun-off many of their facilities, including Lea Regional Medical Center, to another organization - Triad Hospitals, Inc. who is the current owner. Lea Regional Medical Center is now a 250-bed facility offering acute medical and surgical services to the greater Hobbs, NM community.