EKB News

PIKEVILLE — The Medical Leader is expanding its reach to the mountains of southern West Virginia. Walter E. May, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pikeville Medical Center, announced today that the Medical Leader, a weekly newspaper published by the hospital, will expand its coverage area to Mingo County, W.Va.“This is a great day for Pikeville Medical Center and the Medical Leader,” May said. “Pikeville Medical Center is the region’s medical leader, and the Medical Leader offers us a great platform to inform the public of our high-quality services and in doing that, we can offer beneficial news to the community on positive and progressive topics.”Established in 1999, the Medical Leader has evolved from its original 10- page tabloid into a vibrant and effective voice across eastern Kentucky.In 2003, the newspaper started to print weekly and was distributed to every home in Pike County. Two years later, it expanded to Floyd County, and in 2006, the Medical Leader announced its expansion into Letcher County.“The Medical Leader has grown into a viable part of our community’s conversation,” Keith Bridges, assistant vice president of public relations and marketing at PMC, said. “We are very excited about becoming a part of the communities that make up Mingo County.”The Medical Leader has gone through significant growth during this time of expansion. The newspaper is now 40-plus pages and features full color on every page.As the area’s most circulated newspaper, the Medical Leader offers sections for news, communities and sports.“Our positive approach to reporting the news has not only paved the way for unprecedented excellence in journalism, it has opened our mountains and valleys to a newspaper that is interested in sharing the stories that matter most — stories of courage, stories of perseverance, of faith and triumph and how we are all making our communities a better place to live, grow and raise our families,” Medical Leader Managing Editor Joshua Ball said.The region’s most widely circulated newspaper; the Medical Leader will expand its reach to more than 84,000 homes and businesses in Pike, Floyd, Letcher and Mingo (W.Va.) counties.“Our ability to print to a quality product and provide 100 percent market saturation in these areas offers businesses a great opportunity to expand their reach as well.

Courtesy: Medical Leader.