Harlan ARH Welcomes New Podiatric Surgeon Ready to Call Harlan Home

NEWS RELEASE - August 18, 2026

Harlan ARH Welcomes New Podiatric Surgeon Ready to Call Harlan Home

Harlan, KY - Patients across Harlan and surrounding communities now have greater access close to home to specialized surgical care for complex foot and ankle conditions with the addition of Charles Gilley, DPM, to the medical staff at Harlan ARH Hospital.

Dr. Gilley is a podiatric surgeon with extensive surgical training in the treatment of conditions affecting the foot and ankle. His scope of care includes lower-extremity trauma below the knee, including ankle, midfoot and heel fractures; complex foot and ankle reconstruction; severe infections and wounds; deformities; and limb-salvage procedures.

For Harlan ARH, his arrival represents an important expansion of specialty care available locally.

"We're excited to welcome Dr. Gilley to Harlan ARH and to expand the specialized surgical care available to patients in our community," said Joseph Horton, Harlan ARH Hospital CEO. "His training allows us to care for patients with a broad range of needs - from injuries and fractures to complex wounds and conditions that may threaten a patient's mobility or limb. Just as importantly, Dr. Gilley wants to build his life here and become part of this community."

Dr. Gilley earned his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science's Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in North Chicago, Illinois. He then completed a dual surgical residency program with training at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, and The Surgical Hospital of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

The variety and complexity of podiatric medicine are among the things that first drew Dr. Gilley to the specialty.

"Podiatry provides an incredible opportunity to serve and help a wide range of patients with so many diverse medical needs," he said. "You can treat a pediatric ankle sprain, perform a complete surgical reconstruction, fix an ankle fracture, or help a patient save their limb from long-standing infection or significant wounds. Sometimes all that can happen in a single workday. There's never a dull moment."

His path to Harlan began years before he considered moving to Kentucky.

During his residency at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Gilley cared for patients who traveled from eastern Kentucky and West Virginia for treatment. Through those encounters, he developed an appreciation for the people and communities of Appalachia.

"I respected their deep passion for the communities they lived in, their independence that stems from a rich history and a strong sense of family, and of course their love for everything involving the outdoors," Dr. Gilley said. "I quickly discovered I was learning from them as much as they were learning from me."

Then he visited Harlan.

"The geography and environment within Appalachia and Harlan feel almost magical," he said. "I was lucky enough to show up for a job interview and leave that job interview knowing Harlan was a place I wanted to establish real roots. I not only found myself wanting to help the community of Harlan but also wanting to be a real part of the community itself."

Specialized Care with a Personal Approach

While Dr. Gilley brings extensive surgical training to Harlan, he says successful care begins by understanding the individual patient.

"Being sick, in pain or requiring surgical intervention is extremely frustrating," he said. "So, I do my best to make sure patients get a genuine sense that I'm able to recognize their unique needs, challenges and goals."

That approach is particularly important for patients facing complex injuries, difficult recoveries, chronic wounds or conditions that could affect their long-term mobility.

"I'm someone who will stick with you through the entire journey to achieve your goals," Dr. Gilley said.

For him, some of the most rewarding moments come after treatment is complete.

"Patients texting me months after treatment telling me how well they're doing. Patients telling me that they're able to run again, or they're back at work thriving without limitations," he said. "It's those moments where success is shared after struggling from a deeply debilitating injury or illness."

His goal is not simply to address the immediate medical problem, but to help patients protect their mobility and quality of life for years to come.

"Staying off an injury for two months now in the short term often means having the ability to live unrestricted for years into the future," Dr. Gilley said. "Short-term sacrifice to optimize health means long-term gain to optimize daily life."

Finding a Home in Harlan

Outside of medicine, Dr. Gilley's interests make southeastern Kentucky a natural fit. An avid hunter and fisherman, he also enjoys hiking, mountain biking, golf and soccer.

There are a few things patients may quickly learn about Harlan ARH's newest physician. He's rarely without his cowboy boots - even wearing them to work and weddings - and before pursuing medicine, he studied music production at Berklee College of Music.

And he has already found at least one local favorite: Justified Burgers.

For Dr. Gilley, however, coming to Harlan is about much more than beginning a new job.

It is about building a life in the community he now serves.

"I not only found myself wanting to help the community of Harlan," he said, "but also wanting to be a real part of the community itself."

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About Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) traces its roots back to 1955, when the United Mine Workers of America opened the Miners Memorial Hospital system - a network of 10 hospitals dedicated to providing care throughout the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Seventy years later, ARH has grown into a 14-hospital not-for-profit health system that serves more than 500,000 residents of central Appalachia each year. ARH hospitals in Barbourville, Harlan, Hazard, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky, and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, ensure that residents, tucked away in even the most remote areas, can access the highest quality of care without traveling hours from home. ARH's hospitals, clinics, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores, retail pharmacies, and medical spas boast more than 6,700 employees with a network of more than 1,300 providers, making it the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.