Leconte Medical Center
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
LeConte Medical Center provides quality healthcare, in alignment with Covenant Health's mission to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health, regardless of a patient's ability to pay.
- Income
- $160.4 million
- Spending
- $133.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 99%
- Reserves
- 1.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 99%
- Employees
- 729
- Volunteers
- 63
- Highest pay
- $3.2 million, president & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 75 out of 100. Higher than 64% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 10% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 17% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 7% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1599% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2519 of 20 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $131.7 million spent. LeConte Medical Center ("LeConte") provides care to nearly 15 million people who visit Sevier County each year and the nearly 100,000 residents who call Sevier County home. Previously a member of the former Fort Sanders Health Alliance, the hospital became a member of Covenant Health when the health system was formed in 1996. Located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, LeConte Medical Center is a full-service, state-of-the-art hospital with 79 beds.SERVICEThe hospital is best known for women's services (including labor and delivery), emergency care, outpatient diagnostic services, and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. The American College of Radiology recognizes LeConte as a Lung Cancer Screening Center. LeConte's Comprehensive Breast Center is an American College of Radiology Designated Comprehensive Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. In addition, the radiology department has accreditations in every advanced imaging procedure.The Dolly Parton Birthing Unit is a family-centered facility which welcomed more than 600 babies in 2024. It features state-of-the-art monitoring systems for the safety of moms and babies. LeConte is designated by Cribs for Kids as a Bronze "Safe Sleep" hospital and is listed as a 2024 Tennessee Department of Health Safe Sleep partner hospital. The center has also been recognized for optimal cord clamping (timing of clamping the umbilical cord after birth) from the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care. In 2024, the hospital saw 123,800 patients. Of these, 119,686 were outpatients and 4,114 were inpatients with an average length-of-stay of 3.85 days. PUTTING PATIENTS FIRSTAs part of a growing community and a popular vacation destination for visitors from around the country, the emergency department at LeConte is one of the busiest in the region and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is equipped with a helicopter pad and an observation area. LeConte is certified by The Joint Commission as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center. As part of Covenant Health's stroke hospital network, LeConte provides rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke.LeConte was recognized with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes LeConte's commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized research and evidence-based guideline. In 2024, the hospital also earned the AHA's Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. In 2024, LeConte received four Zero Harm Awards for patient safety from the Tennessee Hospital Association. The awards recognize outstanding patient safety achievements at hospitals across Tennessee. LeConte Medical Center was one of 15 Tennessee hospitals to be named among "America's Best-in-State Hospitals" by Newsweek. Along with this designation, LeConte's recognition included a prestigious "Patient Experience Award," given to only five hospitals in the state. Located inside the Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services, the LeConte Comprehensive Breast Center offers 3D mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, bone density screenings, and has certified patient navigators available to help cancer patients manage their treatment journeys. The center's "Paint the Mountains Pink" program educates the community about the importance of regular mammograms and provides free mammograms to women in Sevier County who qualify for mammography screening but cannot afford it. The LeConte Wellness Center is a full-service fitness center located in the Pigeon Forge Community Center. It offers members a safe and family-friendly atmosphere for exercise and activities, in addition to hosting health and education programs throughout the year. LeConte's certified sports medicine athletic trainers work with coaches and students at high schools and sports tourism venues in Sevier and surrounding counties. These professionals help prevent and evaluate sports-related injuries/conditions and educate athletes and coaches about injury prevention and safety issues on and off the field. For more than a dozen years, LeConte Medical Center has partnered with Dollywood's Splash Country (a 35-acre water park located in nearby Pigeon Forge) to host a Water Safety Day. This event is designed to provide children and parents with life-saving water safety skills and builds awareness about the importance of teaching children to swim. In 2024, nearly 700 participants also learned about boating safety, skin cancer prevention, emergency first aid, general water safety, and recognizing the signs of stroke. COVENANT HEALTH LeConte is a member of Covenant Health. Covenant Health is a community-owned, clinically integrated healthcare enterprise dedicated to being the region's premier healthcare network through service, community and innovation. Our mission is to improve the quality of life in our region through better health. Covenant Health provides patient-centered care that inspires clinical and service excellence and strives to be the first and best choice for the communities we serve. Established in 1996 by the consolidation of Fort Sanders Health System, Knoxville, Tennessee, and MMC HealthCare System in Oak Ridge, Covenant Health is governed by a voluntary board of directors composed of community leaders and medical professionals. With more than 11,000 employees, affiliated physicians and volunteers, Covenant Health is the Knoxville area's largest employer and has been named a top employer by Forbes and Becker's Hospital Review. Covenant Health serves a 25-county area and includes nine acute care hospitals in East Tennessee: Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City, LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System in Morristown, Roane Medical
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1981.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.