By HFT Editorial Staff

Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) opened Eastern Kentucky’s only children’s hospital earlier this month. The facility will provide pediatric healthcare for the region, allowing more families to stay close to home and greatly reducing the financial burden that comes with traveling to hospitals hundreds of miles away.

The Mettu Children’s Hospital spans more than 13,400 square feet and houses inpatient and outpatient pediatric service areas. Inpatient services are located in an 8,130-square-foot area consisting of a family-friendly waiting room, 10 private patient rooms — two of which are isolation rooms — a consultation room, a treatment room, a medication room, and a nourishment room. Pediatric outpatient services are located in a 5,290 square-foot area consisting of separate sick and well waiting rooms, check-in and registration area, 13 exam rooms, a medication room, and a nurse’s station.

The Mettu Children’s Hospital at PMC came from to a collaborative effort from many different funding partners who shared a vision for a brighter future for Eastern Kentucky. In 2019, PMC received two grants totaling nearly $6.3 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission and Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Abandoned Mine Lands to construct and equip the region’s only children’s hospital and pediatric clinic.