BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — It's national nurses week and that includes nurses at The Kidz Club, which is the only Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care facility (PPEC) in South Central Kentucky.

The club is celebrating 25 years of existence and Community Relations Coordinator Savannah Mills says they are a unique establishment.

“A lot of places, when you hear the name The Kidz Club, think day care 'cause of our name," said Mills. "We are a PPEC facility. There are not a lot of states that have one, and to have one throughout the state is amazing.”

The club is staffed by 13 full-time nurses and works with children from six weeks to 20 years old.

Nicole Carpenter is one of those nurses, and she works with the kids in a lot of different ways.

"To see kids come in and work with them every day is amazing," said Carpenter. "To see kids who weren't walking and now they are or had trouble speaking and now they can is why I do it."

Parents such as Adrian Dixon say the staff especially the nurses have been crucial in her son's development.

“I have seen my child go from having developmental delays to being able to walk," said Dixon. "The physical, occupational and speech therapy that they dedicated to my son has been great. He couldn’t talk and he can talk now and have a full blown conversation."

The club was even able to stay open during the pandemic, being marked as an essential business.

“Because we are a medical facility, we have been able to stay open throughout the pandemic," said Mills. "We have really helped our families thrive in such a tough time in the world so our kiddos here didn't miss out on that peer interaction because they were still able to interact with our peers our nurses and our staff.”