Eula Hall
Encyclopedia
Eula Hall, is a prominent Appalachian activist and healthcare pioneer who founded the Mud Creek Clinic in Grethel in Floyd County, Kentucky
.
She briefly worked in a World War II canning factory in Ontario, New York, at the age of 15 but was sent back to Kentucky on charges of 'inciting a labor riot' due to poor working conditions.
Upon returning to the mountains, she moved to Floyd County where she worked as a domestic servant for wealthy families who were boarding mine, oil and drilling workers. It was there she met her first husband, McKinley, a coal miner. They married when she was seventeen and together had five children. All were born at home: one born premature and deaf and another died in infancy.
She rose to prominence as an activist as a member of the local 979 community group and the East Kentucky Worker's Rights Organization. She created the Mud Creek Water District and served as President of the Kentucky Black Lung Association.
During President Johnson's War on Poverty
she joined the VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America
) program and later became one of two local Appalachian Volunteers
working in the area. In response to the failed War on Poverty health program in Floyd County, Mrs. Hall established the Mud Creek Clinic in 1973 in Grethel, Kentucky.
By 1977, the patient population was so great that Mud Creek Clinic was struggling to meet the needs of the community. Patients often came from as far as Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio to get medical care. Mud Creek Clinic then joined forces with Big Sandy Health Care, Inc. (BSHC) a local non-profit health care organization that operated another community clinic in neighboring Magoffin County. This merger allowed Mud Creek to receive some federal funding and widen its patient care. After the merger, Eula stayed on as a patient advocate for the Mud Creek Clinic and continues to work in that capacity today.
The new clinic opened its doors in 1984 as a modern 5200 square feet (483.1 m²) brick building. It is still the home of the clinic today. The clinic houses its own laboratory, x-ray machines and pharmacy. The clinic has expanded to include an adjacent 1800 square feet (167.2 m²) building that houses a dental clinic, clothing room and a food pantry that serves more than 100 families per month.
The Mud Creek Clinic had over 13,000 patient encounters last year and no one is ever turned away.
As Social Director, Eula counsels patients on disability claims and Social Security benefits, arranges financial aid for food and drugs, answers questions about food stamps and housing opportunities, and attends civic board meetings and hearings. When patients can't afford lawyers, she often represents them in court. She wins approximately ninety percent of her cases.
- Berea, Kentucky; Midway College - Midway, Kentucky; Pikeville College
- Pikeville, Kentucky and Trinity College - Hartford, CT. She was honored at Berea College alongside the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
In 2004, the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center presented Hall with the Annual David S. Shuller Spirit of AMERC Award. She has received personal letters from President George Bush, Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative Hal Rogers, among other notables who have recognized the amazing work and the on-going effort Hall has devoted to the health and well-being of eastern Kentucky.
In October 2006, Highway 979 that runs through the Mud Creek area, was named the Eula Hall Highway in her honor.
Big Sandy Healthcare also has started two funds in tribute to Mrs. Hall. The Eula Hall Patient Assistance Fund will cover healthcare costs for uninsured and indigent patients and the Eula Hall Scholarship Fund will provide financial assistance for area students pursuing careers in healthcare or social services.
The clinic has been visited by former President Bill Clinton
, Senator Edward Kennedy
, Rev. Jesse Jackson
, and John Edwards
.
In 1977, she divorced her first husband and the next year married Oliver Hall, a retired miner.
Floyd County, Kentucky
Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1800. As of 2000, the population was 42,441. Its county seat is Prestonsburg. The county is named for Colonel John Floyd .-History:...
.
Biography
A self-described "hillbilly activist", Eula was born the second of seven surviving children of Lee D. and Nanny Elizabeth Riley, tenant farmers living in Joe Boner Hollow near Greasy Creek, Kentucky. At the age of 9 she attended Greasy Creek Elementary School in Pike County and graduated from the 8th grade in five years. The local high school, over 20 miles away, was too far away for her to continue her education.She briefly worked in a World War II canning factory in Ontario, New York, at the age of 15 but was sent back to Kentucky on charges of 'inciting a labor riot' due to poor working conditions.
Upon returning to the mountains, she moved to Floyd County where she worked as a domestic servant for wealthy families who were boarding mine, oil and drilling workers. It was there she met her first husband, McKinley, a coal miner. They married when she was seventeen and together had five children. All were born at home: one born premature and deaf and another died in infancy.
She rose to prominence as an activist as a member of the local 979 community group and the East Kentucky Worker's Rights Organization. She created the Mud Creek Water District and served as President of the Kentucky Black Lung Association.
During President Johnson's War on Poverty
War on Poverty
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent...
she joined the VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America
Volunteers in Service to America
VISTA or Volunteers in Service to America is an anti-poverty program created by Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as the domestic version of the Peace Corps. Initially, the program increased employment opportunities for conscientious people who felt they could contribute tangibly to...
) program and later became one of two local Appalachian Volunteers
Appalachian Volunteers
Appalachian Volunteers, Inc. was a non-profit organization engaged in community development projects in central Appalachia that evolved into a controversial community organizing network, with a reputation that went “from self-help to sedition” as its staff developed from "reformers to radicals," in...
working in the area. In response to the failed War on Poverty health program in Floyd County, Mrs. Hall established the Mud Creek Clinic in 1973 in Grethel, Kentucky.
Mud Creek Clinic
In 1973, Hall opened the doors to The Mud Creek Clinic in Mud Creek, Kentucky for the uninsured and the underinsured. She began with a $1,400 donation and the commitment of two local doctors who volunteered from Our Lady of the Way hospital in Martin, KY. The clinic began in a rented trailer on Tinker Fork but it soon outgrew the facility and Hall decided to move her own family into a two bedroom mobile home and use her own house as the new location for the clinic. She converted the three bedrooms into six exam rooms and the rest of the house into waiting rooms and offices. At the time, the clinic didn't have its own pharmacy and medications had to be delivered from the local hospital after the clinic had closed. Hall would spend half the night delivering medication to patients who had been at the clinic that day.By 1977, the patient population was so great that Mud Creek Clinic was struggling to meet the needs of the community. Patients often came from as far as Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio to get medical care. Mud Creek Clinic then joined forces with Big Sandy Health Care, Inc. (BSHC) a local non-profit health care organization that operated another community clinic in neighboring Magoffin County. This merger allowed Mud Creek to receive some federal funding and widen its patient care. After the merger, Eula stayed on as a patient advocate for the Mud Creek Clinic and continues to work in that capacity today.
Clinic Arson
In 1982, Hall and the Mud Creek community suffered a great loss when the clinic burned down at the hand of a mysterious arsonist. The next morning Hall and the clinic doctor pulled a picnic table under a willow tree and treated patients who had schedules appointments. She even had the phone company place a phone on the tree so that patients could call the clinic. Hall then had two used trailers joined together to use as a temporary clinic. A few months after the fire, Hall received a letter from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) stating that they would donate funds for a new facility for Mud Creek Clinic. One of the conditions of the funding was that the community would be required to come up with $80,000 in matching funds. She called a public meeting and over 400 people showed up and pledged their support. People gave money and items to be raffled off at auction, Hall organized a two-day radiothon that raised $17,000, and multiple chicken-and-dumpling dinners that earned $1,300 apiece. With Eula's leadership, the community raised $120,000 - $40,000 more than the necessary $80,000 required by the ARC. The extra money paid for new X-ray equipment for the clinic.The new clinic opened its doors in 1984 as a modern 5200 square feet (483.1 m²) brick building. It is still the home of the clinic today. The clinic houses its own laboratory, x-ray machines and pharmacy. The clinic has expanded to include an adjacent 1800 square feet (167.2 m²) building that houses a dental clinic, clothing room and a food pantry that serves more than 100 families per month.
The Mud Creek Clinic had over 13,000 patient encounters last year and no one is ever turned away.
As Social Director, Eula counsels patients on disability claims and Social Security benefits, arranges financial aid for food and drugs, answers questions about food stamps and housing opportunities, and attends civic board meetings and hearings. When patients can't afford lawyers, she often represents them in court. She wins approximately ninety percent of her cases.
Awards and Recognition
Eula has received numerous awards for her advocacy work, including honorary doctorates from Berea CollegeBerea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
- Berea, Kentucky; Midway College - Midway, Kentucky; Pikeville College
Pikeville College
The University of Pikeville is a private, liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, located in Pikeville, Kentucky. The university is home to one of three medical schools in the state of Kentucky. It's current president is former Kentucky Governor Paul E...
- Pikeville, Kentucky and Trinity College - Hartford, CT. She was honored at Berea College alongside the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
In 2004, the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center presented Hall with the Annual David S. Shuller Spirit of AMERC Award. She has received personal letters from President George Bush, Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative Hal Rogers, among other notables who have recognized the amazing work and the on-going effort Hall has devoted to the health and well-being of eastern Kentucky.
In October 2006, Highway 979 that runs through the Mud Creek area, was named the Eula Hall Highway in her honor.
Big Sandy Healthcare also has started two funds in tribute to Mrs. Hall. The Eula Hall Patient Assistance Fund will cover healthcare costs for uninsured and indigent patients and the Eula Hall Scholarship Fund will provide financial assistance for area students pursuing careers in healthcare or social services.
The clinic has been visited by former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Senator Edward Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, Rev. Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, and John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
.
In 1977, she divorced her first husband and the next year married Oliver Hall, a retired miner.