Vice President Mike Pence Visits EKU’s East Region Campus in Manchester

Vice President Mike Pence visited Eastern Kentucky University’s Manchester campus in Clay County in August.

Accompanied by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Alex Azar, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Pence announced over $9 million in grants given by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help Kentucky in its efforts to fight the opioid crisis.

The contribution included $750,000 in training grants for the University of Pikeville, $167,000 for prevention and treatment services at EKU, and $167,000 to the Kentucky-based Grace Community Health Center, among others.

“Manchester and Kentucky are setting the pace in the battle against opioid abuse and addiction,” Pence said. “I am honored to come here and celebrate that progress with all of you.”

The vice president also addressed the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Program’s Operation Bobcat, which provides military medical training to troops along with free health care services to residents of eastern Kentucky. Pence announced that last year the program provided more than 11,000 medical procedures to over 2,600 patients in four Kentucky counties.

“Coming here and doing the [IRT] training here, impacting the quality of life of so many people across eastern Kentucky... Providing critical medical and vision and dental care for Americans at the point of the need on the home front is truly inspiring,” Pence said.

The event in Manchester marked the vice president’s third visit to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2019. In March, he spoke at a fundraiser for Gov. Bevin in Lexington and returned in May to speak at Hallway Feeds about U.S. Department of Labor reports. 

In the fall of 2018, President Donald Trump spoke at EKU’s McBrayer Arena in Richmond as part of Congressman Andy Barr’s reelection campaign. President Trump and Vice President Pence are expected to return to the Bluegrass state again before the end of 2019, with dates and locations to be determined.

Published on October 07, 2019