Prestonsburg, KY (November 10, 2005) Highlands Regional Hospital pledged one hundred thousand dollars for scholarships at Big Sandy Community and Technical College.



Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC) President Dr. George D. Edwards and Manager of Advancement Judy Bocook met with Harold C. Warman, Jr., President of Highlands Regional Medical Center (HRMC), Burl Wells Spurlock, Chairman of the Consolidated Health Systems, Inc. Board of Directors and Edward Nairn, Chairman of the HRMC Board of Trustees to accept a pledge of $100,000 to the College's Fulfilling the Promise campaign. The money pledged by HRMC will be used to endow a scholarship which will be made available to students at Big Sandy Community and Technical College.



Highlands Regional Medical Center is a 184 bed (166 acute care/18 subacute), not-for profit, community owned and operated healthcare facility. HRMC's immediate service area is Floyd, Johnson, Martin and Magoffin Counties with a combined population of over 90,000 residents. In addition, people from over ten surrounding counties come to Highlands to take advantage of the wide variety of specialty medical services available at Highlands and in Highlands Clinic.



Highlands has a history rich in community involvement, and was founded almost 30 years ago by a group of concerned citizens from each of the four counties who, working together in a collaborative effort, established a regional medical center to provide high quality healthcare services to people living in this rural area. Martin and Magoffin Counties, even today, have no hospitals and Highlands is working to provide outreach rural health clinics in each of them to provide care to their residents. In the southern part of Floyd County, Highlands operates Harold Primary Care, a rural health clinic located in the community of Harold, Ky. The clinic is staffed by a Board Certified Family Practitioner and a Certified Nurse Practitioner and offers care to rural residents that may not have a family physician or access to transportation. These endeavors help Highlands meet part of their Mission Statement that pertains to providing health care services that are accessible to the community served.



Big Sandy Community and Technical College serves Floyd, Johnson, Martin, Magoffin and Pike Counties and surrounding areas. Partnership with Highlands Regional Medical Center dates back to the establishment of the hospital in Floyd County. Working together to promote health and education has been a priority for both the hospital and the college. HRMC and BSCTC each have a long history of dedication and service to the citizens of eastern Kentucky. Together they will provide more and better opportunities for students to achieve a college education at BSCTC.