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Addressing a drug pandemic and individuals with a variety of other challenges, Mountain Comprehensive Care Center is determined to serve Winchester.

On Monday afternoon, the Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce recognized them accordingly.

Dedicated to integrative health care that includes behavioral, primary, and pharmaceutical health care, the organization along Main Street by Depot Street was honored in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with a standing-room-only crowd that included a number of local officials.

“Our goal as an agency is to go anywhere our services are needed, and the welcome that we have received here has been remarkable”, said Rachel Willoughby, Primary Care Service Program Director for Mountain Comprehensive Care Center. “We’re so thankful to have the opportunity to be here and to serve somebody.”

Following introductions at the ceremony, Mayor Ed Burtner was given an opportunity to speak.

While noting that the work Mountain Comprehensive Care Center did for the community was essential, Burtner offered other words of encouragement as well.

“Mountain Comprehensive Care [Center] has been a tremendous asset to this community, and I want to thank everybody who is associated with this issue”, he said. “Our community is not judged by what we do for the greatest of us, the most affluent…It’s judged by what we do for the least of us. That’s how we are judged.”

Afterward, Senator Ralph Alvarado of the 28th District – who also serves as Medical Director at Isaiah’s House Treatment Center – spoke too.

“If you’re going to ask the average citizen in our community, ‘What’s the biggest problem that our community faces?’, it’s going to be the issue of addiction”, he said. “We can all and should do all we can to help people get out of that cycle of addiction, but we also have to look more comprehensively at all the levels of government and society [to see] how we can keep people from ever falling into that funnel to begin with.”

State Representative Ryan Dotson was also present at the event.

Other community members from Winchester to appear included Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue, Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham, Shearer Elementary School Assistant Principal Lindsay Campbell, Achieving Recovery Program Director Lindsay Horseman, Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cindy Banks, and many more.

With the goal in mind to provide whole health care, Mountain Comprehensive Care Center seeks to support individuals in a number of different ways.

“It was important to us from the beginning…that as we went into these integrated clinics that our providers were communicating with each other, that we were looking at diagnoses, we were looking at medications that were so important”, Willoughby said.

For example, this might include making sure that a proper balance of behavioral and physical health medications were being applied.

While this has yielded benefits, there is still room for growth.

“I think Kentucky is pretty much for mental health services underserved statewide”, said Teresa Kiscaden, Behavioral Health Program Director for Mountain Comprehensive Care Center. “Our clinic coordinator, Teresa Johnson, she has a great relationship with the Mayor’s office…[and] All the community partners. We do a lot of outreach within the community.”

While serving as Clinic Coordinator, Johnson also has a background with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).

Ali Ratliff, a pharmacist with Mountain Comprehensive Care Center, also expressed gratitude.

“It’s really good to see the community come together. We’re just happy to be here and try to help”, she said.

Children’s services programs, outpatient therapy, case management, and community support associates are also available via Mountain Comprehensive Care Center.

Mountain Comprehensive Care Center, located at 123 North Main Street, offers behavioral health, primary medical care and a pharmacy. Hours of operation are Monday–Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information, call 859-737-2900.