The Medical Leader

It doesn’t get much bigger than this. This is like winning the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four or the World Series for a hospital.

Pikeville Medical Center has been named the National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers (AAHP). The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor.

“This award validates what I see every day,” May said. “We have positioned ourselves as one of the premier hospitals in the nation. We will celebrate our anniversary in December and we have only just begun.”

Earlier this year, Pikeville Medical Center was recognized as a Hospital of Choice recipient by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers. No other health care facility in Kentucky earned this distinction.

To earn the honor, PMC competed against over 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University. None of these hospitals have been named the National Hospital of the Year.

Pikeville Medical Center underwent a thorough on-site survey from the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers that was based on six principle areas: standards of conduct, performance management and improvement, staff development and training, systems of communication, good citizenship and educational and promotional material available to consumers. The award aims to find the nation’s most customer-friendly hospital.

Jerry Johnson, Chief Operating Officer at Pikeville Medical Center, said the hospital’s unwavering commitment to provide world-class care at home starts with the hospital’s more than 1,700 employees.

“We feel that a world-class hospital is not only measured in its technological advances or services, but also by our world-class employees who are committed to providing quality care,” Johnson added. “As an organization, we have set high goals, and we truly feel that the nation’s very best health care can be found here in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.”

Patty Thompson, Director of Customer Service at Pikeville Medical Center, said the hospital has always placed patient care a top priority.

“Our passion for our work is evident in our mission to provide ‘quality, regional health care in a Christian environment,’” Thompson said.

PIKEVILLE - Pikeville Medical Center has been named the nation’s top hospital by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers (AAHP).

The hospital was selected as a top 10 finalist among 400 qualifying health care facilities for the Hospital of the Year award earlier this year. Among other honors, the hospital named a Hospital of Choice recipient by the AAHP.

After an on-site survey, the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers selected Pikeville Medical Center for the honor based on six principle areas including: standards of conduct, performance management and improvement, staff development and training, systems of communication, good citizenship and educational and promotional material available to consumers.

“We have made a commitment to not only be one of Kentucky’s best hospitals, but one of the best hospitals in the nation,” said Walter E. May, president and chief executive officer at Pikeville Medical Center. “This award validates the hard work of our more than 1,700 employees who work diligently to provide world-class care to our patients.”

It has been a year of national accolades for Pikeville Medical Center. Last month, the hospital was selected as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work by Modern Healthcare Magazine. This award recognizes some of the nation’s most outstanding health care organizations and focuses on an organization’s development, commitment to customer service and communication with employees.

As part of the selection process, Modern Healthcare conducted a detailed survey of PMC employees based on eight core areas: leadership and planning, culture and communications, role satisfaction, working environment, relationship with supervisor, training and development, pay and benefits and overall satisfaction. PMC was one of 317 companies competing for this prestigious honor.

“We take great pride in offering world-class services to our region, but we also take great pride in having world-class employees who are dedicated to our mission of providing quality, regional health care in a Christian environment,” said Jerry Johnson, chief operating officer at Pikeville Medical Center. “As an organization, we have set high goals and standards. The awards and recognitions we earn is a reflection of our employees and their dedication in delivering quality care to our patients.”

About Pikeville Medical Center

Pikeville Medical Center is a nationally recognized health care facility that offers more than 300 services, ranging from cardiac and cancer care to neurosurgery and orthopedic programs. The hospital, recognized as one of Kentucky’s Top 10 “Best Places to Work” for two consecutive years, was recently selected as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work by Modern Healthcare Magazine. PMC was also the first hospital in Kentucky - and among the first 10 hospitals in the nation - to be awarded the highest accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The hospital is a 261-bed modern facility on a sprawling 500,000 square-foot campus with more than 1,700 employees. Our employees are committed to providing quality, regional health care in a Christian environment.

PIKEVILLE - The opening of the Regional Flu Center by Pikeville Medical Center and its Family Practice Clinic is the first of its kind in Kentucky.

Hospital officials converted the former Free Screening Center into the Regional Flu Center in five days, adding six patient rooms, a diagnostics area and x-ray examination room. The decision to open the center came on the heels of President Barack Obama’s Emergency Declaration due to the rapid rise of flu cases across the nation.

PMC's 24-hour Regional Flu Center

“We felt it was necessary to open the Regional Flu Center to help segregate the population of those affected by flu-like symptoms from the general population in the hospital,” said Jerry Johnson, chief operating officer at Pikeville Medical Center. “The Regional Flu Center allows us to better maintain the flow of patients experiencing symptoms and helps streamline their care through a center dedicated solely to their needs.”

Within the first 36 hours of its opening on November 2, the Regional Flu Center treated more than 200 patients.

The Regional Flu Center, located on North Mayo Trail, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is fully staffed by physicians, nurses and other health care professionals.
Misty Ling, who brought her 9-year-old daughter Autumn to the center on Tuesday, said the convenience of coming to one place for diagnosis and testing made her decision easy.

“It’s wonderful to come to one location for everything, especially when you have a child,” Ling explained. “If I had to take my daughter to a different place for each test, it would increase the amount of time before she receives her treatment.”

Sheila Belcher, a registered nurse at Pikeville Medical Center, said the Regional Flu Center is dedicated to providing quality treatment to get patients “back on the road to recovery as soon as possible.”

The Regional Flu Center offers complete testing, lab and x-ray services. Additionally, patients, who have orders from family physicians for testing, lab or x-ray services, can utilize the center for all of their testing needs.

Hospital officials have also put into place precautionary measures for visitors. Only the May Tower, Leonard Lawson Cancer Center, Emergency Department and Heart Institute entrances are open to visitors. Additionally, visitors under the age of 12 or anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms are not permitted to visit patients.

“With the flu virus spreading at record levels this early in the season, we feel the precautionary measures we have in place will help contain the spread of the virus to not only our patients but also visitors and employees,” said Walter E. May, president and chief executive officer at Pikeville Medical Center.  “During this time, we ask visitors to be vigilant, utilize the hand sanitizer dispensers located throughout the hospital and thoroughly wash their hands with soap and warm water before and after visiting patients.”

For more information on the Regional Flu Center, please call (606) 437-1887.

About Pikeville Medical Center
Pikeville Medical Center is a nationally recognized health care facility that offers more than 300 services ranging from cardiac and cancer care to neurosurgery and orthopedic programs. The hospital, recognized as one of Kentucky’s Top 10 “Best Places to Work” for two consecutive years, was recently selected as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work by Modern Healthcare magazine. PMC was also the first hospital in Kentucky - and among the first 10 hospitals in the nation - to be awarded the highest accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The hospital is a 261-bed modern facility on a sprawling 500,000 square-foot campus with more than 1,600 employees. Our employees are committed to providing quality, regional health care in a Christian environment.

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