Baptist Health Corbin hosts Flag Ceremony for National Donate Life Month

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May 7—CORBIN — National Donate Life was established by Donate America and it's partnering organization in 2003.

Observed in April each year, National Donate Life Month helps raise awareness about donation, encourages Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

Baptist Health Corbin would like to honor the gift of donation by hosting a Flag Raising Ceremony for National Donate Life Month. You are invited to join us at the flagpole on the hospital campus on Wednesday, May 8, at 1 p.m.

About Baptist Health Corbin's history

In late July 1986, Baptist Regional Medical Center, which operated out of the old Corbin Municipal Hospital on Bishop Street, moved to a new facility on Cumberland Falls Highway. Three sites had been considered for the relocation and, after much debate, Whitley County was chosen.

Patients were brought by ambulance from Southeast Kentucky Baptist Hospital to the relocated medical center. The new facility was spacious and allowed for an increase in the number of beds — unlike the former space, which was leased and landlocked, leaving no room for expansion.

To build the new 210-bed hospital, more than 160,000 tons of earth were moved for construction of the $32 million facility.

The new space enabled multiple services to be added over the years, including magnetic resonance imaging, Neonatal Intensive Care units for newborns who require extra care, laser surgery, women's health services at the Women's Health Care Center, and help for emotional problems and addictions through the Trillium Center.

"Quality close to home" was the medical center's mission statement. In 2001, the center became the first hospital to win the Governor's Gold Quality Award, given to companies for their public service work.

Baptist Regional expanded its facilities several times, including the addition of an emergency department and the opening of a Critical Care unit and Outpatient Surgery Center.

Off-site facilities also opened, such as Baptists Physicians Southeast, allowing for many more physician services, such as pulmonary, transfusion, and psychiatry for adults and adolescents.

In 2012, the hospital changed its name to Baptist Health Corbin as part of a systemwide rebranding effort.

Today, Baptist Health Corbin is a 273-bed, acute care facility providing a wide variety of healthcare services to residents of Whitley, Knox, Laurel, Bell, Clay, McCreary counties in Kentucky and Harlan and Campbell counties in Tennessee.