registered nurse

registered nurse - medical / surgical

executive director

physical therapist

cafeteria worker

Appalachian Regional Healthcare

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at Appalachian Regional Healthcare is knowing the work we do truly matters to our community. At the Harlan ARH Daniel Boone Clinic, we are more than coworkers — we are a team that cares for our neighbors, families, and friends every single day.

What makes this company special is the sense of purpose, teamwork, and compassion. Even on challenging days, there is pride in knowing we are improving lives in a rural community where access to quality healthcare is so important. The relationships built with patients and staff create a family atmosphere, and everyone has the opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
One of the most stressful parts of working for Appalachian Regional Healthcare can be navigating the many processes required to gain access to different platforms, dashboards, and systems needed to perform daily responsibilities. At times, the number of steps, approvals, and communication involved can slow productivity and create frustration, especially when timely access is essential for supporting staff and patient care.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture at Appalachian Regional Healthcare has evolved in a very positive direction. While there were challenges in the past related to leadership styles and overall morale, there has been noticeable improvement in communication, teamwork, and employee support over time.

Today, the culture feels more collaborative, encouraging, and team-oriented. There is a stronger focus on working together, supporting one another, and creating a positive environment for both staff and patients. It has been rewarding to be part of that growth and to see the clinic moving toward a more unified and motivated workplace culture.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day for me begins with participating in a safety huddle alongside hospital leadership to discuss daily operations, priorities, and patient care concerns. From there, I make rounds throughout the clinic, meeting with providers and staff, checking the facility for any operational issues, and interacting with patients to ensure their needs are being met.

Throughout the day, I focus on supporting both the clinical and administrative sides of the clinic. This includes responding to emails, reviewing reports, addressing coding issues and deficiencies, and monitoring provider schedules to identify opportunities to improve patient access and clinic efficiency. Each day involves balancing leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork to help ensure the clinic operates smoothly and delivers high-quality patient care.

Hospital employees were like a family, my work family. Called in people to work, when someone was sick, or not able to work.  Received free meals when working a double shift, we had 12 paid holidays a year. This Hospital sponsored parties for Christmas. In summer they hosted catered picnics at a local park. arranged for parking places.  I worked here a long time. I did different jobs. I was allowed to transfer from one job to another. New hires received the same pay while training for their job. If we got snowed in, the weather was too bad to go home and return.  We were put in a motel nearby or placed on an empty wing of the hospital that was being refinished. This hospital is the best job that I ever had. If there were conflicts, they called a meeting of everyone involved, and a representive for administration, nursing. supervisers, and others who did similar work until the dispute was worked out.  They had a party for people when they retired with fun and food. My supervisor was a wonderful person, she was very fair.  This job was very exciting, if you don't mind monitoring a code for a dieing person. After you worked 5 years, we received a valuable reward for each 5 years we worked, such as a Ruby necklace, gold bracelets. special pins and many other rewards.  I was allowed to work on other floors if my schedule was overbooked, so I could get in my hours, allowed to work overtime.  Overtime pay was regular time and a half. Hollidays you get a free paid day off to take anytime you want, we as ward clerks, several on each floor, formed a group, paid money into a tresurary, and purchased gifts for anyone sick. and sent flowers to funeral's of loved ones.
I loved working for the nurses and ancipating their needs and helping to move a patient to a regular floor, our unit often got flowers that we displayed on the desk. We received many goodies from the doctors and patients on Holidays, especially Christmas, and when someone lost a family member, we received a beautiful white bible in a cedar box.

● Work-life balance
When the Nursing Administration starts treating people badly (which happens often) groups of nurses quit. You can the expect to be mandated quite frequently.

● Pay & benefits
Pay is low for Kentucky and the responsibility that you have. Ratios are often 8:1. Insurance is ok, but you have to go to one of their facilities and the copays jumped to $75.

● Job security and advancement
You are just a number at this facility. Retention rates are low because of the top nursing leadership treating employees badly. The unit managers are great and help ensure that training is completed on time. Training opportunities are minimal however.

● Management
The CEO at the facility is a great person. He stopped by the office every morning and was a great person to work for. The CNO however was not. Rude and disrespectful and that was on the good days (this explains the retention rates). The unit managers, clinical nurse managers, and house supervisors are great. The ER and ICU have the best unit managers.

● Culture
The culture among the nurses and staff was great. They are like family. However the top nursing management looks for ways to write up staff to prevent they from getting their bonuses. Expect to work short handed and have high ratios. The CNAs are also underpaid and overworked. Having 1 aid to take care of 32 patients at times is both unsafe and uncalled for.

● Overall
I loved my job at the facility I was at. The first CNO when I started was wonderful. However, when she left and the new one took over, it became a culture of horror and grief. Expect to be talked down to and wrote up for nonsense so you won’t get your bonus. Lost two family members while I was working here and when I came back from the second funeral I was accused of not being at the funeral and performing clinicals for school. Worst employment experience  I have ever had in my life. I had to threaten to get an attorney before the harassment would stop.

There was no typical day at work.  It was the worst ran place I have EVER had the displeasure of working, but I stayed there 10 years almost.  You would report for your shift on your assigned unit and be told you weren't needed and either go home or to go to another unit to work, even if that unit was a specialty unit you had NEVER stepped foot on in your life and everything was totally different.  I learned my basic nursing skills at this facility.  I learned more by having to piece together basic equipment and scrape for supplies because NOTHING was EVER kept the way it should be stocked to save money.  Management was lip service only and never once did anything that I can remember in my entire time there to resolve a single conflict that they didn't end up resolving it by punishing the person who originally had a problem and needed their assistance.  I would know more than most because they were so horrible I somehow in my 20's ended up getting the title of KNA union president because no one else would go to bat for these nurses or patients.  The hardest part of the job was of course again firstly ever losing a patient to an untimely death you couldn't prevent, but the lack of empathy or care of management at both the local and corporate level about these "numbers" being actual human beings also wore on me.  The most enjoyable part of the job was easily making the ill better and trying to make the facility a little better in whatever way I could as a union leader for the future.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part about working at ARH is the sense of purpose that runs through everything. At its core, ARH is built around caring for people in communities that genuinely rely on it and that creates a work environment where what you do every day matters.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
From a retention standpoint, the most stressful part of working at ARH is the strain that occurs when consistently high patient demand collides with limited staffing and resources.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Our work environment at ARH is defined by a strong sense of connection  to our patients, to our mission, and especially to one another. It’s a culture where people don’t just work side by side; they support each other, celebrate together, and step in when someone needs a hand. That closeness is what makes ARH feel less like a workplace and more like a community.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day in retention at ARH is all about staying connected being present, being visible, and building the kind of relationships that help you spot issues before they turn into turnover. It’s proactive, people‑focused work that blends communication, observation, and follow‑through.

I have had a very disappointing experience with this hospital overall. There are ongoing concerns about how staff are treated by administration, with a clear lack of support and respect for the people doing the day-to-day work.
Management has also been reported to treat staff in a degrading manner, and when concerns are brought to HR or higher levels of leadership, there does not appear to be any meaningful follow-up or resolution.
Equipment and supplies are also an issue at times. Necessary tools are not always available or up to date, which can make providing care more difficult than it should be.
Staff are frequently expected to take on responsibilities outside of their role, including tasks typically handled by social work, dietary, and housekeeping, in addition to their own workload. This creates unnecessary strain and takes away from time that should be focused on patient care.
There is also a strong perception among staff that advancement and promotions are influenced more by personal relationships than by qualifications or performance, which negatively affects morale.
Pay does not feel competitive or reflective of the workload and responsibility required.
While there are a few dedicated individuals who genuinely care, the overall culture and leadership need significant improvement

Each day was very fast paced which I loved because it made the day go by fast.
In my 11 years working there I learned a lot about all the different surgery procedures and what is required for each person to have surgery. I learned what all the requirements are for surgery and enjoyed getting to know all the doctors and surgeons. I was in very good relations with all the local surgeon offices and all the doctors loved me.
I loved all my co-workers they were all like family to me they took care of me and watched out for me were there when I needed them whether it be personal or needing a break they were always eager to help me.
The position became stressful for me when our admissions was removed from outpatient surgery and I took on that replacement plus the position of Unit Secretary I was just overwhelmed with all the change.
I do miss talking with my co-workers, doctors, surgeons, and other hospital staff they were all a joy to be around. We were like a family we learned from each other.

Overworked, underpaid is an understatement. This place while giving you the opportunity to be remote, doesn't allow for you to prioritize your time efficiently. It is essentially a SOC with a few added tasks. Manager spends his time micromanaging and not allowing you the time to fulfill your duties. If you've worked in a SOC before, this is essentially just another version of that, they should title it that as well. You will be underpaid because they have a tier system that is rubbish, you will need to be available 24/7 for monitoring tools. There is no work life balance here, the micromanaging will make you miserable while being a part of the team. The first Saturday I was asked to work, I was mentally checked out and looking for something else. You will be burned out quickly doing this type of work. If this your first rodeo, jump right in and enjoy it for a short period. If this is not your first cyber security role, move on as there are better opportunities out there that you will enjoy learning about your role and who it fits into the bigger picture. Here you will be miserable every Sunday because you know what tomorrow is 

In my roll most days tended to be slow on the patient aspect but there was still a constant needs to get so much done. There may not have been a large amount of patients seen by my provider in a day but there was so much more to do than just see patients. As the nurse for my specific provider I also had to make testing and/or procedure appointments, contact insurance to verify and obtain authorization for specific tests, procedures or treatments and in put orders that the provider wanted done. I would also draw labs that were required and preform basic in office testing such as COVID, Flu, and Strep tests when needed. Register labs to be sent to the onsite laboratory, call and confirm patient appointments as well as schedule return appointment when required. I learned a great deal about patient care and learn much from my provider as he was a wonderful teacher. Management was amazing and was even willing to work with me when I decided to become a foster parent. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
After 8 year of loyal and dedicated service to ARHS, I was, without a moment's warning, told to leave my office because my job was eliminated.  I was told to stop working on a case that a patient was waiting for my return call, and to leave my personal things where they were and someone would pack them up later.  In other words, get out NOW!   This occurred six months after we were told UNC-H was only coming in to train us on their computer system, when they had really come in to take over the entire system and change its name.  Deception and inappropriate treatment of good employees (over 50 were let go at that time, including long time employees and doctors.)  I would not recommend employment at UNC-H.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Please refer to my precious response

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was good - before UNC took over

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It was good before UNC took over

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 8 salaries reported	$44.50 per hour
Registered nurse - medical / surgical 9 salaries reported	$35.14 per hour
Executive director 11 salaries reported	$125,000 per year
Physical therapist 3 salaries reported	$35.73 per hour
Cafeteria worker 5 salaries reported	$12.38 per hour

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