Saturday, December 4, 2021

Pikeville Medical Center now includes Eastern Kentucky's first hospital for children, thanks to federal grants and donors

Outpatient examination room in hospital
(Photo by Silas Walker, Lexington Herald-Leader)
Pikeville Medical Center has opened the first children's hospital in Eastern Kentucky.

The 13,400-square-foot facility, with 10 child-themed patient rooms and 13 outpatient examination rooms, is named the Drs. R.V. and Jyothi Mettu Children’s Hospital, for donors of $1.5 million to the project. Jyothi Mettu has been a pediatrician in the area for almost 30 years.

Pikeville Medical Center also received a federal-state Abandoned Mine Lands Pilot Program grant of $4.78 million and an Appalachian Regional Commission grant of $1.5 million to support the project.

PMC president and CEO Donovan Blackburn told Liz Moomey of the Lexington Herald-Leader that finding a way to serve the region’s children has long been a priority. “Our kids have to travel, it’s not right, it’s not fair,” he said. “As the largest single regional institution, we had to address that.”

"Prior to the children’s hospital opening, a child with appendicitis or a heart murmur would likely be referred to a specialist in Lexington," Moomey notes, quoting Blackburn: “A child will be able to see its extended family for support now during an overnight stay. A child will have access to urgent care instead of having delayed care when care is needed. A child will feel like they matter during some of their scariest times because of today.”

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