NEWS RELEASE – March 5, 2025
Nearly 2,000 ARH Healthcare Workers Ratify New Five-Year Contract
HAZARD, KY, March 4, 2025 – Nearly 2,000 healthcare workers employed by Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) and represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) have ratified a new, five-year contract.
The new agreement reflects the ongoing commitment by both ARH and the USW to support and invest in the frontline workers who care for patients and families across the region, said Austin Maggard, ARH Vice President of Human Resources.
The agreement covers a diverse group of essential workers at nine ARH locations across Southeastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia. Covered employees include respiratory therapists, radiology, and lab technicians, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), clerical staff, technicians, dietary and housekeeping staff, and other hourly employees.
The locations covered under the contract include ARH hospitals and clinics in Beckley and Summers County, West Virginia, as well as Morgan County, Middlesboro, South Williamson, Hazard, Harlan, McDowell, and Whitesburg, Kentucky.
“ARH is proud to have reached this unprecedented agreement in record time, thanks to the fair and competitive offer we put forward from day one,” Maggard said. “This contract reflects our ongoing commitment to providing our team members with strong wages, excellent benefits, and a fair, supportive work environment. Our employees are the backbone of our health system, and their dedication to caring for our communities is unmatched. Moving ahead, we will continue reviewing our pay, benefits, and workplace experience for all ARH Team members to make ARH a place where employees – both now and in the future – want to put down roots and grow their careers for years to come.”
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Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), is a not-for-profit health system operating 14 hospitals in Barbourville, Hazard, Harlan, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, as well as multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores and retail pharmacies and medical spas. ARH employs approximately 6,700 people with an annual payroll and benefits of $474 million generated into our local economies. ARH also has a network of more than 1,300 providers on staff across its multi-state system. ARH is the largest provider of care and the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky, and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.