Western Kentucky is lacking mental health care providers according to the latest Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings.
Pennyroyal Center interim executive director Eric Embry said it’s difficult to attract mental health professionals in the mostly rural western Kentucky.
“We’ve taken some actions to try and alleviate that,” Embry said. “We are members of the National Health Service Corps. Which basically allows mental health providers who have student loans to get those loans repaid back by the federal government if they work for a certain period of time within our region.”
Embry says currently the center uses telehealth so patients can receive care from a psychiatrist without the physician having to live in the region.
