Appalachian Regional Healthcare Inc.
- Location: Eastern Kentucky
- Website: https://apprhs.org/foundation
- Lives Impacted: Family of 4
On July 27, 2022, a flood swept through 14 rural counties in Eastern Kentucky, killing 45 people and displacing thousands more. A year later, the affected communities continue to feel the impact as they rebuild their lives.
With the mission of furthering healthcare, education, and community involvement in Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia, Appalachian Regional Healthcare’s Foundation (ARF Foundation) funds a number of important causes impacting the communities they serve. They have played an instrumental role in helping survivors of the flood.
Thanks to a mattress donation from Tempur Sealy International, through their partnership with Good360, ARF Foundation provided a comfortable place to sleep to a family of four that lost everything in the flood when they had to flee their home in knee-high water with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Below is the story directly from the family:
“The night of the flood we were blocked by raging water, so we (and our neighbors) had no choice but to sit and watch the rising waters destroy our homes and everything in its path. The water got to six feet inside our home. Four of us lost our homes that night.
My husband and I were separated from our boys for two weeks afterwards. My boys stayed with my sister, and my husband and I stayed with my parents. During that time, we found a very kind family that allowed us to rent one of their rental homes and spent all day every day for two weeks trying to start from scratch making a home for our family. That meant relocation to another county, furnishing the house, food, clothes, anything necessary, and replacing items we lost.
It literally has taken a village to help get us back on our feet through this difficult time. We were blessed with wonderful family, friends, neighbors, organizations, and strangers that wanted to help. We are so grateful for all that has been done for us and are eager and excited to start this new chapter in our lives. My boys will have a new home back in the county where they spent their entire lives until the flood. We thank you for the mattress that was donated to us. We thank you and everyone else who has helped us. We could not have made it through the last 11 months without it.
