Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) hosted a virtual press conference Friday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the region’s first pediatric hospital and the official opening of the Appalachian Valley Autism (AVA) Center. The small ceremony, attended by Governor Andy Beshear, Congressman Hal Rogers, ARC Federal Co-Chair Tim Thomas and others, was broadcast live on local television and social media.

Governor Beshear said the PMC press conference was the first trip he had made outside Franklin County since March. He commended PMC on measures taken to keep those in attendance safe and encouraged everyone to continue to social distance, wear masks and practice hand hygiene.

During the press conference, it was announced that PMC received two grants totaling nearly $6.3 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and Abandoned Mine Lands (AML)to construct and equip the children’s hospital.

“Without the support of these organizations and Congressman Hal Rogers, we would not be here today,” said PMC Vice President of the Board of Directors and CEO, Donovan Blackburn.

“Today, our dream of developing the region’s only children’s hospital is becoming reality. In addition to enabling us to better treat our youngest and most vulnerable patients, this project will also add jobs to our struggling economy.”

“When complete, the PMC Children’s Hospital will provide medical services for more than 100,000 children in our region, allowing families to stay close to home for difficult treatments and long-term medical care,” said Congressman Rogers. “This project is a win-win for both PMC and the children of Eastern Kentucky.”

The PMC Children’s Hospital is the product of two years of planning and a commitment to better serve the pediatric patients in PMC’s service area.

“I congratulate Pikeville Medical Center for being awarded a $4.8 million AML grant to create this much needed pediatric clinic,” said Rebecca Goodman, Secretary of the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. “This will allow thousands of eastern Kentucky children and their families to avoid traveling hours to seek medical care. Now, they can get that care much closer to home.”

The second part of the press conference was centered around the ribbon cutting and official opening of the AVA Center, a long-overdue behavioral service for children, specifically those with autism. The AVA Center, which began serving children at the first of July, offers applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, which has been shown effective in increasing communication skills, improving attention, and decreasing problem behaviors. Therapists at the AVA Center are specifically trained for early intervention and working with children diagnosed with autism as young as two years old who have been diagnosed with autism. According to the CDC, one in fifty-four children is diagnosed with autism.

“PMC is dedicated to helping children with autism who have no voice and are unable to help themselves,” said Blackburn. “These precious children will not always have their parents to watch over them. But, through the AVA Center, we can become an advocate on their behalf, helping them to thrive in their own community.”

The AVA Center has quickly advanced since opening at the first of July. They now have the ability to care for and provide treatment for 45 children. The ultimate goal for the facility, with the help of state, federal and private funding agencies, is to provide services for 100 children.

Another part of PMC’s commitment to enhancing pediatric services was also unveiled during the press conference. Blackburn announced that a Memorandum of Cooperation between PMC and the University of Kentucky, on behalf of their Kentucky Children’s Hospital, has been executed. The institutions will share information and work together to develop programs and services for the region’s youngest patients.

As part of its mission to provide pediatric services, PMC’s emergency department has been certified as Pediatric Ready and is the first emergency department in Kentucky to become a Certified Autism Center™. PMC also has the only NICU in the region.

Those who were present also commended PMC for bringing telehealth services to Pike County Schools. Once schools return to in-person classes, these telehealth services will provide access to healthcare while children are in school. With the support of Congressman Hal Rogers and USDA Rural Development State Director, Hilda Legg, PMC received a $357,000.00 grant from the USDA to pay for equipment to be used for the telehealth services. “This partnership is all about keeping our children healthier, which is part of our mission at USDA Rural Development,” said Legg.

“This venture will provide our school system with a tool to keep attendance rates up, which will now be more important than ever,” said Pike County Superintendent, Reed Adkins. “With our partnership with PMC, students in remote areas of the largest county in Kentucky will now have quick, easy access to care.”

PMC would like to thank Governor Beshear, Congressman Rogers and everyone who participated in the virtual press conference. The federal and state support that has been provided for PMC’s pediatric initiatives has been vital in allowing PMC to offer these services to the patients in this region