Dr. John Hanna, current chief of staff at Covenant Levelland, spent part of Sunday (April 3) delivering Sofia, daughter of Jesus and Mayrel Alvarado, of Levelland. The child was his 3,000th delivery.

When he delivered his first baby in 1993, he never dreamed that 23 years later he would be in the thousands.

“Delivering that first one … I remember the adrenaline rush, sitting there nervously holding my towel and praying not to drop the baby,” Hanna said. “It went very well though, and I was hooked.”

Hanna said the excitement and miracle that is childbirth is unlike anything else, describing it as “amazing and awesome.” He has delivered babies in a parking lot, an elevator, a hallway and in a car.

“I have chased screaming women down the hall with the infant’s head already out, who were overwhelmed with the pains of childbirth,” Hanna said. “I did get her to labor and delivery before the baby was born … barely!”

Bruce White, CEO of Covenant Levelland, said Hanna’s milestone is a testament to his dedication.

“Dr. Hanna delivering his 3,000th baby is a significant milestone in his career,” White said. “This milestone is a testament not only to the number of deliveries that he has performed, but also the amount of care that Dr. Hanna has given his patients throughout the years. It is a testament to number of sleepless nights, time away from his family, and last minute vacation changes to care for his patients. It is a testament to first-time breaths in babies and to the number of fears calmed in first-time moms. It is a testament to his commitment to his patients and community. Covenant Health would like to congratulate Dr. Hanna on this milestone, and commend Dr. Hanna and his family for their commitment to patients and this community.”

According to Hanna, technology has been the biggest change throughout the past couple decades.

“When I arrived in Levelland, we were using baby monitors on the walls to hear the heartbeats in the rooms,” he said. “Now we have high-tech monitoring that transmits the mother’s and fetus’ heartbeats to the nursing station where they can be closely monitored continuously until delivery.

Hanna related the story of a famous obstetrician who was asked to describe labor and childbirth. Hanna said, “He thought for a moment and then said, ‘Eight hours of boredom, followed by two minutes of sheer terror.’ There is truth in that.”

Graduating second out of 112, Hanna earned his credentials from the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Ft. Worth in June 1995. Hanna completed his residency in Family Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 1998, where he was Junior Chief Resident in 1996.

In 2012 he was named a Most Compassionate Doctor – Patients Choice (Vitals) and a 2014 America’s Top Doctor by the Consumer Research Council.

Born in Shreveport, La., he and his wife Noreen, have five children.

“I love delivering babies and I love doing it in Levelland, Texas. I try to treat all my patients as if they were my wife, my sister or my mother. They know I love them and I believe that is the key to a successful practice. There is no doubt that my patients have to wait, sometimes for hours, in my clinic; but once I walk in the room, I try to make that long wait worth it. I don’t know how many more deliveries there will be, but I love each and every one.”