ARH Family and Specialty Clinic - Paintsville - A Department of Paintsville ARH Hospital

Jul 2025

Nicole's office will make you wait 2 hours after your scheduled appointment time, Everytime! I come in only needing prescription refills and I wait for 2 hours or more every single appointment! The secretary is slow as molasses in an Alaskan winter and apparently doesn't know how to schedule patients because I am NEVER seen at my scheduled appointment time.

From 2014 to 2017, my dad was treated by Dr. Rice at this facility. For many years, he suffered from a horrible stomach ailment. Despite doing one or two tests, Dr. Rice was unable to determine that he had ischemic colitis and never scheduled a colonoscopy My dad had a host of heart issues, so one would think he could have figured this out My dad's condition continued to worsen, so I traveled from Ohio to see him. When I asked Dr. Rice what we were going to do and what was causing my dad's illness, I suggested that we take action to keep him alive. Dr. Rice literally chuckled at me and said my dad wasn't dying and that he had graduated from Pikeville Medical Center, so he doesn't make mistakes. Additionally, I want to draw attention to how filthy this facility was—none of the staff cleaned their hands. All we could do was watch in terror. After undergoing exploratory surgery at a tiny hospital in Louisa, Kentucky, a few weeks later, it was discovered that he had severe ischemic colitis and was near death. Three weeks had passed since Dr. Rice said, "Your dad isn't dying." Dr. Rice, why wouldn't you refer a patient to a specialist sooner if they keep growing worse while in your care? My dad had to send himself to Louisa in hopes they could figure out what was wrong. My dad eventually was sent in an Emergency vehicle to UK medical center, where they said he would have lived a lot longer with his disease if he had gotten the right care sooner. They couldn't understand why Dr. Rice hadn't sent him to a specialist sooner! He got sepsis, and at this point, they had to essentially remove all of his intestines. After starting hospice care, he passed away a week later. I wouldn't trust ARH or Dr Rice with anything , so please don't go to this hospital unless you just need a few stitches or have a cold.

I wouldn’t recommend this establishment to my worst enemy. Never used their facilities personally but had a family member pass there (when it was Paul B.) which was their negligence & many others who have had horrible experiences there. Folks of Eastern Ky have no where to go locally for true medical care.