NEWS RELEASE – March 17, 2025
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) Steps in to Support Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation During Recent Floods
Salyersville, KY, March 17, 2025 – As devastating floods impacted much of Eastern Kentucky including Salyersville, local long-term care facility Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (SNRC) faced a critical challenge: evacuating patients. In this time of crisis, Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) rose to the occasion, ensuring that the patients received the care they needed.
ARH has long been dedicated to ensuring that all members of its communities have access to the care they need, especially in times of disaster. As the threat of the flood approached, the proactive call was made to send patients with specialized needs to local hospitals where they could receive the care they needed, while other patients with less critical needs were evacuated to another safe location.
Many patients that were evacuated required specialized care including tracheostomy management and Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP) support. Morgan County ARH and ARH Our Lady of the Way quickly stepped in to help. The dedicated teams at both hospitals worked together with the staff at SNRC to take in the most vulnerable patients, ensuring they were transferred safely.
“We are incredibly grateful for the swift and compassionate response from ARH. Their teams went above and beyond to ensure our patients were safe and cared for during this emergency,” said Joshua Calhoun, Administrator at Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation.
Vivian Morgan, Charge Nurse at Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation, added, “Thanks to the quick response from the ARH team and the support of our own Salyersville staff and other local agencies, the patients were quickly and safely relocated, and their care didn’t skip a beat. It was truly a team effort, and I am incredibly proud of how everyone came together.”
ARH’s commitment to caring for our communities and neighbors goes beyond providing medical treatment. ARH and the ARH Foundation have proven that they value working together with other community partners to ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, receives the support they need.
“ARH is all about the health and well-being of our communities. When we were notified SNRC needed help, every one of our decision makers was focused on one thing and one thing only: the health and safety of those residents. I give credit to the front-line staff at ARH Our Lady of the Way for providing exceptional, high-quality care, and to everyone at the system level that helped facilitate the transfer,” said Rocco Massey, CEO of Our Lady of the Way ARH.
This collaboration between ARH hospitals and local nursing homes underscores a long-standing commitment to community health. Allie Archer, CEO of Morgan County ARH, also emphasized the collaborative effort: “Our team at Morgan County ARH understands how critical it is to support our neighboring facilities in times of crisis. We were happy to step in and ensure these patients received the care they needed.”
Following the support provided by ARH during the evacuation efforts, staff at SNRC wanted to pay it forward. SNRC decided to host a food drive to support ARH’s drive focused on assisting those battling food insecurity. After a facility-wide drive, SNRC staff worked with Morgan County ARH staff to transport donations and ensure they made their way to God’s Pantry to be redistributed to the community.
ARH’s commitment to providing extraordinary care, especially in times of need, underscores the strength and reliability of the ARH system. This collaboration brings to life the spirit of ARH, the ARH Foundation, and the dedication we have to serving our communities and neighbors.
For more information on how to support the ARH Foundation for Healthier Communities or to learn more about how we are supporting flood victims and our work for flood recovery, please visit www.arh.org/floods.
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Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), is a not-for-profit health system operating 14 hospitals in Barbourville, Hazard, Harlan, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, as well as multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores and retail pharmacies and medical spas. ARH employs approximately 6,700 people with an annual payroll and benefits of $474 million generated into our local economies. ARH also has a network of more than 1,300 providers on staff across its multi-state system. ARH is the largest provider of care and the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky, and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.