Pikeville Medical Center showcasing services close to home

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WSAZ) - In any medical situation, time matters and traveling for health care can add unneeded stress to families.

Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) says it has spent years working to bring advancements it hopes will keep families needing critical services close to home.

“This is amazing to me, what we can have in one location, that will continue to be a benefit to my family. I don’t have to travel to Cleveland Clinic, some of these other places people like Duke, they don’t have to. They can come to Pikeville Medical Center and get those same services a half hour from home,” said Leann Hubbard, Assistant Vice President of Laboratory Services.

PMC says they have added several treatment facilities and services to offer more advanced health care. One example - the hospital says the lab can now test blood samples faster then ever and without sending them to different sites. Lab specialists can also get additional tests from the same sample --eliminating the need to put a patient through further testing.

And with the recent expansion of its cancer center, the hospital says it has access to clinical trials and immunotherapy with enhanced patient comfort. It also has a dedicated oncology pharmacy onsite for cancer patients who need special medication. They say it’s all designed to focus on one thing -- healing.

“Being taken care of by people who sound like them, look like them, that make you feel like your neighbor is taking care of you. And they don’t have to travel the long distances, sit through their treatment and then travel back home, Oncology Nurse Sarah Vasquez said. “Its a very convenient thing for people of eastern Kentucky to be able to give world class cancer care right here at Pikeville Medical Center Lawson Cancer Center.”

Doctors at PMC say it’s not just about comforting and treating patients -- it’s about providing a welcoming environment and developing relationships with their patients.

“When folks come here we want them to leave knowing that we cared for them like we would any other member of our family,” hospital pediatrician Dr. Fritz Stine said. “We still want people to come here to get that family feeling knowing that we are caring for them and giving them our best.”

But the focus isn’t just on adult care -- the hospital says making children feel more at ease is a top priority. PMC says they’ve even made design choices to make families feel more comfortable.

“Its scary as an adult to go to the hospital, it’s even scarier as a child and in some ways its even scarier to be there with your child,” Dr. Stine said. “We really focus on meeting a parents expectations and then exceeding that and taking care of the most precious thing in their life, and that’s their child.”

And hospital leaders say they hope to keep advancing the health and well-being of their patients -- for years to come.

“Having this place here helps us all grow here for the best for our community, and we are always growing,” Dr. Stine said.

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