After closing for four months due to damage from the historic Eastern Kentucky floods this past summer, UK HealthCare’s June Buchanan Medical Clinic in Hindman, Kentucky, officially reopens to the community today.
“Since 1974, the June Buchanan Clinic has been an integral part of this community, providing much-needed health care services to the residents of Knott County and beyond,” said Juanita Hughes, DO, primary care physician with the June Buchanan Clinic. “This facility is so important to Eastern Kentucky, and we are thrilled to be reopening our facility and getting back to normal operations.”
UK HealthCare operates several clinics in the areas that were overwhelmed by flood waters, and the June Buchanan Clinic in Hindman took the biggest hit. While the clinic was closed, UK and UK HealthCare teams in Hazard and Hindman worked with various charities and community health workers to provide local health care through mobile dental and medical clinics.
“The staff at the June Buchanan Clinic have been amazing,” said Tammy Stidham, practice manager for June Buchanan and UK North Fork Valley Community Health Center in Hazard. “Even though their personal homes were flooded, they still came and helped with clean-up. They were willing to do whatever they needed in order to reopen the clinic for their patients.”
Members of the maintenance and housekeeping crew at the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health (UK CERH) also worked tirelessly to help clean up the June Buchanan Clinic to get it up and running again. While the UK June Buchanan Clinic was being restored, the providers were re-stationed at the UK CERH building in the UK North Fork Valley Community Health Center to continue providing services for Knott County patients.
“The flooding in Eastern Kentucky affected many individuals, families, businesses, health care providers and their facilities. Having access the quality health care close to home is an essential factor in disease prevention and managing our health outcomes,” said Fran Feltner, PhD, director of UK CERH. “The reopening of the clinic has been all hands on deck. I am very thankful for all the UK CERH housekeeping, maintenance staff, faculty, providers and many others who made the reopening the UK June Buchanan Clinic possible.”
The services offered by the UK HealthCare June Buchanan Clinic include primary care, dental care, behavioral health, dietitian consultations, a discount pharmacy program, and lab services with next-day results. X-ray services at the clinic will be operational again soon.
The June Buchanan Clinic is located at 59 Cowtown Road in Hindman. To make an appointment, call 606-439-1559.