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Harlan Countians have seen different levels of medical care availability in Harlan County over the county’s long history, with facilities and services coming and going as the population changes. Front Porch Medical is helping to bring back the concept of house calls along with a number of additional services.

Kimberly Miller, a nurse practitioner and owner of Front Porch Medical, took time recently to shed some light on what Front Porch Medical has to offer the community.

“I’ve been a nurse since 1993,” Miller said. “I retired from the Health Department here in 2022, then went back to school to become a nurse practitioner.”

Miller provided an explanation of the role of nurse practitioner.

“Nurse practitioners can be a provider like a physician, we’re considered a mid-level provider,” Miller noted. “We don’t have to work under a doctor other than the first four years as a nurse practitioner, after that we no longer have to collaborate with a physician. We can diagnose, treat, but we don’t do surgeries or things like that.”

Miller began her career as a registered nurse at Corbin Hospital, working in telemetry and the ICU before beginning her career at the Harlan Health Department.

She decided to become a nurse practitioner so she could better provide for her patients.

“As a nurse, I always felt like I could do more for my patients, but I didn’t have the authority to do that,” Miller said. “I knew being a nurse practitioner would give me more ability to help people.”

Front Porch Medical opened to the public approximately one year ago in April, 2024.

Since beginning her career in the medical profession, Miller has seen the need to return to practices which were once common but are not readily available today.

“We live in a poor county, a rural area with limited transportation,” Miller said. “I have seen patients who didn’t have transportation or were elderly and couldn’t get to the doctor. So, I saw a need for old-fashioned house calls, just because I observed a lot of patients not going to their doctor’s appointments anymore just because they couldn’t physically get there.”

Miller noted the need for home health care and other medical services turned out to be even higher than she realized. In addition to house calls, Front Porch Medical offers a variety of services.

“I do primary care,” Miller said. “Diagnosis and treatment, chronic disease, that kind of thing.”

Miller also provides weight loss management, Department of Transportation exams for Commercial Driver Licenses (CDL), Telehealth services, and more.

“I can actually do primary care in the home,” Miller said.

Front Porch Medical serves all ages, from infants all the way up.

“I think the oldest patient I have is 92 years old,” Miller said.

Front Porch Medical has had a busy first year in operation.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Miller said. “I knew a need was there but I didn’t now how badly it was needed. I’ve got around 200 patients now. Not all of those are home care, but there are a lot of patients that have been in need for even small things.”

Miller said she has been able to help many patients with needs such as acquiring a hospital bed for their home or a walker.

“I’ve been able to help a lot of patients that don’t have family, they don’t have anybody to help them, that’s been a blessing,” Miller said.

A near lifetime Harlan Countian, Miller was born in Louisville but moved to Harlan with her mother shortly after.

“My mom lived in Louisville at the time,” Miller said. “She moved back to Harlan County, she was from Cumberland. We moved back here when I was little, I don’t know if I was even 2 years old yet.”

Miller graduated from Harlan Independent High School in 1991. She mentioned she is lucky to live in a small town where she has access to people in professions which help her provide better service to her patients.

“It’s good to live where you have friends that you’ve grown up with that work in resources like hospice or home health,” Miller said. “I can reach out to friends, I can just text them and ask, ‘can you help with this?’ or ‘who can I talk to?’ that’s one thing good about living in a small town.”

Miller mentioned she is also certified to provide medical cannabis cards.

“I did get my certification to do that,” Miller said. “It’s not an actual prescription you give somebody. A patient has to have an exam, and they pay out of pocket for that, their insurance does not pay for that.”

She pointed out there are five different diagnoses which may make a patient eligible for a medical cannabis card, including chronic disease, epilepsy, and cancer.

“It’s limited,” Miller said.

She explained once diagnosed, a patient’s name is placed with the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis. The patient will then receive a card certifying them to purchase medical cannabis.

“They take that card to a dispensary, and it shows they are eligible to purchase it,” Miller said.

Miller clarified patients can not obtain medical cannabis from Front Porch Medical. The card must be taken to a qualified dispensary. At this time, there are no dispensaries located in Harlan County.

“I think as of right now there are only two dispensaries in the state, one in Louisville and one in Lexington,” Miller said.

For more information, contact Front Porch Medical via email at kimberly@frontporchmedical.com, through their website at https://frontporch-medical.com, or call 606-273-1139.