ARH Receives Awards from the Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative

NEWS RELEASE - August 17, 2026

ARH Receives Awards from the Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative

Lexington, KY - Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) announces ARH birthing hospitals and the healthcare system have been honored with prestigious awards from the Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative (KyPQC) for the third consecutive year. These awards recognize their commitment to quality care through data submission, highlighting ARH's dedication to quality improvement and data excellence. The award winners are Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center, Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center, Middlesboro ARH Hospital, and Whitesburg ARH Hospital.

"We're proud that our system has been recognized by the Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative. This honor reflects our team's commitment to the health and safety of mothers and infants across our communities. We're grateful for the dedication of our nurses, physicians and staff who make this level of care possible every day," said Jonathan Koonce, Chief Executive Officer for Highlands Regional Medical Center.

The Hospital Distinction in SUD Screening Awards and the Hospital Distinction in NAS Awards were presented on July 22 at the Kentucky Symposium for Maternal and Infant Outcomes in Lexington, Kentucky. KyPQC and the Kentucky Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Task Force (KyMMM) hosted the event.

Rita Crum, ARH System Director of Service Line Excellence, comments, "These awards show the remarkable dedication of our teams to provide the highest level of care to our patients." Crum continued, "Our hospitals are proving that rural communities can lead the way in innovative, compassionate care for mothers, infants, and families. We're incredibly proud of the advocacy and effort of our staff to ensure every patient receives the care they deserve."

The awards highlight ongoing efforts across ARH to address the impact of substance use on families, ensuring universal screenings and evidence-based interventions are available to improve the health and well-being of both mothers and newborns.

These four hospitals were also recognized for their leadership and commitment to improving postpartum care for being part of a pilot to implement a postpartum discharge checklist.

"We have expanded our collaboration with these organizations to include additional maternal health initiatives focused on improving the recognition and management of maternal hypertension and strengthening postpartum discharge practices to support safer transitions of care for mothers and their families," Crum said.

KyPQC is a statewide network of individuals dedicated to improving the health and well-being of mothers and infants from pregnancy through delivery and throughout the first year by working with hospitals across the state. KyPQC focuses on quality initiatives, including the impact of substance use disorder on mothers and their infants. ARH birthing hospitals are part of KyPQC's group aimed at identifying mothers with substance use disorder and connecting them with community resources, as well as improving the reporting rate of babies with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), withdrawal from substances the baby was exposed to in the womb.

Photo credit: Michelle Hall, Highlands Regional Medical Center (HRMC) Director of OB, Keisha Woods, Clinical Nurse Manager of NICU at HRMC, Rita Crum, Women's and Children's Health Service Line Director, and Allison Webb, ARH System OB Educator.

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About Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) traces its roots back to 1955, when the United Mine Workers of America opened the Miners Memorial Hospital system - a network of 10 hospitals dedicated to providing care throughout the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Seventy years later, ARH has grown into a 14-hospital not-for-profit health system that serves more than 500,000 residents of central Appalachia each year. ARH hospitals in Barbourville, Harlan, Hazard, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky, and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, ensure that residents, tucked away in even the most remote areas, can access the highest quality of care without traveling hours from home. ARH's hospitals, clinics, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores, retail pharmacies, and medical spas boast more than 6,700 employees with a network of more than 1,300 providers, making it the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.