Thompson Named COO for Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center

NEWS RELEASE - July 24, 2026

Thompson Named COO for Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center

Prestonsburg, KY -Michael Thompson has been named Chief Operating Officer for Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center, where he will bring experience he gained while serving as COO of Tug Valley ARH Regional Medical Center since May 2025.

Before coming into healthcare, Thompson was the CFO of businesses ranging from real estate to restaurants under an umbrella company. The job involved traveling throughout Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, and Thompson realized in 2024 that he was ready for a change.

Thompson's prior experience centered around making systems work better, but the work was more abstract in nature. He wanted to see his skill of knowledge of process and systems help patients and not just improve numbers.

Thompson said his father Duane Thompson, a former ARH Board of Trustees member who passed away in 2024, encouraged him to go to ARH. He said his father was proud that ARH put patients first, cared about their employees and made giving back to the community a priority.

That commitment to community resonated with Thompson and reinforced his decision to build a career within the ARH system.

"I live in this community, and I want the same thing every family here wants, excellent care close to home," Thompson said. "That's what drives me in this role. It's about making sure the people I care about and the neighbors I see every day have access to the kind of care they deserve."

Thompson and his wife Andrea live in Paintsville with their children, Norah, 12, Vedya, 10, and Baron, 7.

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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.