A children’s hospital has opened in eastern Kentucky.

The Drs. R.V. and Jyothi Mettu Children’s Hospital opened Monday at Pikeville Medical Center, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. It will be the first such hospital in the region and will serve Kentucky, southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia.

The 13,400-square-foot facility will provide inpatient and outpatient pediatric health care, meaning children won’t have to travel so far for care. The other children’s hospitals in Kentucky are in Lexington and Louisville.

“Our kids have to travel, it’s not right, it’s not fair,” said Donovan Blackburn, Pikeville Medical Center president and CEO. “As the largest single regional institution, we had to address that.”
The hospital provides specialty services, a 10-bed in-patient unit, 13 pediatric exam rooms, a children’s waiting area and a playroom.