Doctor who flew in supplies during 2022 flood returning to KY to practice medicine

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WYMT) - An Eastern Kentucky doctor who flew in needed supplies from North Carolina during the July 2022 flood will soon return to the Bluegrass for the next step in her career.

During the disaster, Doctor Randi Barnett, who is a Breathitt County native, was the Chief Neurosurgery Resident at UNC Chapel Hill.

In August 2024, she will return to her alma mater, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington. When she comes back to the commonwealth, Barnett will join UK HealthCare as a pediatric neurosurgeon. She said the move is “literally a dream come true” for her.

“I didn’t think it was possible for someone like me,” said Dr. Barnett in a news release from UK. “The reason I wanted to go into medicine was because growing up in rural Kentucky, I saw disparities. Knowing that physicians in the community were leaders people look up to, I saw this as a good way for me to give back while also doing what I love.”

In the news release, Barnett went on to say when she gets back to UK, she plans on hosting outreach clinics to give back to her fellow Kentuckians who gave so much to her growing up.

“It’s literally a dream come true to come back home and take care of people who have been instrumental for me making it this far in my life,” she said. “It’s a huge privilege, and I feel so lucky to have this opportunity.”

Barnett is currently finishing her pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.

You can read the news release here.