Kentucky Edition: New Mobile Clinic Serving Eastern Kentucky and Digital Access via the PBS App
Governor Andy Beshear helped cut the ribbon on Appalachian Regional Healthcare's new mobile health clinic. Last Friday, Governor Andy Beshear, his advisor Rocky Adkins and people from Appalachian Regional Health Care cut the ribbon to open up a mobile health clinic that will travel around eastern Kentucky. Kentucky Edition is a local public television program presented by KET that covers these vital regional developments.
Mobile Software and Digital Access
Regarding how to stay informed, Kentucky Edition is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio. To access this content, you can Download the PBS App or Stream Here on PBS.org. This mobile software allows users to join the conversation and see what people are talking about regarding healthcare in the region.
Capabilities of the New Mobile Health Unit
As part of the initiative, officials noted: "We can extend, expand, expand our services throughout Kentucky, southern West Virginia, and beyond those borders throughout the entire state of the Commonwealth." The unit is designed for versatility; as the staff explained, "we have two clinic rooms in here, and then a registration area." Anything that you would do in a clinic, in a primary care clinic can be done for the most part in here.
The following table outlines the specific capabilities of the new mobile unit based on the provided data:
| Feature/Service | Details |
|---|---|
| Facility Layout | Two clinic rooms and a registration area |
| Clinical Services | Wellness visits, traditional acute care visits, and Women's Health Services |
| Medical Procedures | Give vaccines and draw basic labs |
| Deployment | Can be deployed if another flood occurred or another disaster happens |
Challenges to Rural Healthcare Infrastructure
During that opening, both Beshear and Adkins expressed concerns on how helpful the clinic will be if proposed Medicaid cuts become a reality. We're at a critical crossroads, with over $700 billion being cut in previous and current policies, bills that are being recommended out of DC. The threat to rural health care is a real issue and is one that needs to be talked about seriously, especially over the next few weeks to come.
The impact of these decisions is significant for the community:
- Rural health care and health care for Eastern Kentucky is critical for us to be able to grow the economy.
- There was a study that suggested over 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky might close if these cuts go forward.
- These are 35 hospitals that help people in a pandemic and employ thousands of Kentuckians.
Ultimately, this project represents a major investment. I was proud to serve as co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, and we were able to bring a record $47 million of new investment into Kentucky just from that commission. We're taking health care to them at a very affordable cost because they can't come to us.