Jaynes Family Practice: An Appalachian Medical Clinic Providing Exceptional Patient Care

Located in Southeastern Appalachia’s Corbin, Kentucky, Jaynes Family Practice serves its patients in a beautifully crafted building, and in more ways than your typical primary care visits. The Jaynes team, led by Owner and Family Nurse Practitioner, Leslie Phelps, and Practice Manager, Whitney Honeycutt, serve their broad patient population with a deep understanding of the community’s historic challenges. Jaynes Family Practice provides one-of-a-kind care to its patients by truly listening to and understanding their unique needs and barriers. To provide individualized care, clinic staff have even become fluent in the various Spanish dialects spoken in the surrounding areas, a must to effectively communicate with patients. 

Last year at this time, the Jaynes team was working in a more traditional clinic space that could no longer expand with its growing patient population or staff needs. Additionally, flooding in the building became an incredible challenge that could no longer be mitigated while trying to keep up with the daily practice. At the beginning of 2024, the team began transitioning into a new building that Leslie and Whitney would transform into one of the most warm and welcoming clinics the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) team has had the opportunity to visit. The building’s renovation was carried out in addition to daily clinic demands and virtual biweekly RHPTP meetings. It was not until an onsite visit in May 2024, that the Stratis Health technical assistance (TA) consultants and a RHPTP team member could truly see and comprehend the bigger picture; that this clinic transition is merely one piece of Leslie and Whitney’s larger vision to improve and expand health care in their community. 

Visiting the clinic was Angie LaFlamme, RHPTP Program Specialist, and Stratis Health TA Consultants, Candy Hanson and Erin Foss, all of whom took a winding drive to Corbin, Kentucky. The group immediately found that the new facility’s home-like appearance mimicked the Jaynes team well. Jaynes Family Practice not only provides a variety of health care services, such as a wellness visits, acute care, mental and behavioral health services, a weight loss program, addiction services, chronic disease management and genetic screenings, but has a provider team that consistently excels at considering the social drivers of health impacting their patients. One of the team's most remarkable accomplishments has been their ability to prioritize seamless integration of their primary care clinic with addiction and physician services, a complex challenge that so many rural organizations face. As with numerous rural health care organizations, transportation can be a barrier for patients getting to and from their scheduled appointments. The Jaynes team is known to squeeze additional family members – who have driven a loved one to their appointment – into the busy clinic schedule and will even pick up patients needing a ride to the clinic. 

Leslie and Whitney shine when it comes to holding their patients and staff accountable, setting realistic expectations and goals while maintaining a warm, empathetic atmosphere. Clinic leadership is always assessing the needs of the clinic, whether they need to bring on additional providers, add a new service, or assist staff with childcare. While some health care organizations serve a more traditional population, others, like Jaynes, work in a community that requires a creative approach to providing appropriate care. Jaynes Family Practice is a perfect example of a rural health clinic emphasizing dedication, innovation, and high quality of care. The RHPTP team celebrates this one-of-a-kind clinic and congratulates them in their work over the last year in their transition to value-based care.