Healthcare is a concern for each and every person in the country. With the need for healthcare comes issues in availability — one of them being location. Living in a rural area such as Bell County makes it difficult to seek certain kinds of specialized healthcare.

Mountain Comprehensive Health Services just expanded its non-profit organization into Middlesboro with the opening of a clinic on the Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College campus — making this the only clinic available in the area outside of Pineville. Since its beginning in the early 1970s, MCHC has become one of the largest, independent healthcare service providers in the country.

The brand new branch located at SKCTC held a ribbon cutting for not just the campus, but members of the public as well. Tables were set up with free merchandise such as shirts, stress balls and lip balm as well as light refreshments. Other tables were designated to provide information on the variety of services the clinic will offer.

The Middlesboro location will provide diabetic education, women’s health, sports physicals, family practice medicine, labs, chronic care management, mental health and substance use counseling and sliding scale service — which reduces cost based on income and household size.

Teresa Fleming, director of financial affairs at MCHC, stated, “The college felt there was a need for healthcare, and wanted to partner. It was just a natural progression for us to work together in this partnership.”

Starting Monday, the hours for the clinic will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will hold those hours every day of the week except Sunday.

“That’s the first time the MCHC has ever opened those 12-hour shifts so we’re really hoping the community takes advantage of that. We wanted to fit in with the campus schedule as well so students wouldn’t find it an inconvenience if they got sick,” said Fleming.

The clinic is located at 100 College Road, Suite 131-132. Reach it by phone at 606-654-9450.