ARH Hospitals Now Part of UK HealthCare/Norton Healthcare Stroke Affiliate Network

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 15, 2012) -- The Kentucky Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) System and UK HealthCare have announced that all eight ARH hospitals in Kentucky are now part of the UK HealthCare/Norton Healthcare Stroke Affiliate Network, providing stroke treatment and prevention to even more patients in Eastern Kentucky.

"At UK HealthCare we have a mission and a responsibility to improve access to high-quality care for all Kentuckians," said Dr. Michael Karpf, UK executive vice president for health affairs.  "Thanks to partnerships with community health care providers such as the eight ARH hospitals, we are able to team up to make this a reality further benefiting the people of Eastern Kentucky."
 

Appalachian Regional Healthcare is a not-for-profit health system serving 350,000 residents across Eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Kentucky ARH hospitals are located in Harlan, Hazard, McDowell, Hyden, Middlesboro, South Williamson, West Liberty and Whitesburg.

"We are excited about this affiliation with UK HealthCare. This affiliation will afford us the ability to improve the health of the communities we serve," said ARH President and CEO Jerry W. Haynes. "Awareness of symptoms and timely treatment for stroke is crucial to successful recovery and that is why we believe this intensive focus on stroke treatment and prevention is a very important service to provide for our patients in Eastern Kentucky."

Operating 10 hospitals, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, HomeCare Stores and retail pharmacies, ARH is the largest provider of care and single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third largest private employer in southern West Virginia.

"By educating members of the community and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in the region, we work together to provide valuable information about recognizing the signs of stroke and the importance of early treatment," said Dr. Michael R. Dobbs, director of the UK Comprehensive Stroke Program and director of the UK HealthCare/Norton Healthcare Stroke Affiliate Network. “Our affiliate hospitals teach us about their communities and their patients. Meanwhile, we provide access to the resources and knowledge we have as an academic medical center.”