OLIVE HILL, Ky. — Dr. Charla Burchett, DNP, APRN, and Kristin Yarman, APRN, of Carter Healthcare have been named the 2026 NEKY Healthcare Professionals of the Year by the Kentucky Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
The twin sisters and healthcare providers were recognized during the 2026 NEKY Small Business Awards breakfast on Tuesday, Sept. 1, where businesses and professionals from across Northeast Kentucky gathered to celebrate their contributions to the region.
For Burchett, the recognition provided an opportunity to pause and reflect on the growth of Carter Healthcare and the people who have helped make that growth possible.
“We were honestly shocked and incredibly honored,” Burchett said. “When you own a small business, you spend so much time focused on what needs to be done next that you don’t always stop and think about how far you’ve come. There are always patients to take care of, problems to solve, new ideas we’re working on, and ways we want to improve. Receiving this award gave us a moment to stop and realize that maybe what we’re building really is making a difference.”
While the award recognizes Burchett and Yarman individually, Burchett said they immediately thought about the team behind Carter Healthcare.
“Our names may be on the award, but Carter Healthcare is not just the two of us,” Burchett said. “We have an amazing team who believes in what we’re trying to do and cares about our patients just as much as we do. This recognition belongs to them, too.”
Burchett and Yarman have grown Carter Healthcare while navigating the unique dynamic of working alongside a twin sister. As the practice has evolved, they have learned to embrace their individual strengths while relying on the team around them.
“We’re twin sisters, so working together definitely comes with an interesting dynamic. We know each other extremely well, and we’re also not afraid to disagree,” Burchett said. “We have different strengths, different ideas, and sometimes completely different ways of getting to the same place.”
As their roles have developed, the sisters have remained focused on a shared goal: expanding access to healthcare services in the region while maintaining the personal connection that was important to them from the beginning.
“The one thing that really hasn’t changed is our end goal,” Burchett said. “We both want Carter Healthcare to continue growing and bring services to our area that people might otherwise have to travel to receive, while still keeping the personal feel that was so important to us when we started.”
That personal approach is central to the sisters’ vision for patient care.
“We want them to feel comfortable. We want them to feel heard. And most importantly, we want them to feel like we actually care…because we do,” Burchett said.
Burchett said the relationships they build with patients are one of the most meaningful parts of their work, from hearing about patients’ families and celebrating milestones to supporting them through difficult circumstances.
“We want people to feel comfortable asking questions and being involved in their own healthcare,” Burchett said. “We want them to know that we’re going to listen and that we’re willing to look at different options when the traditional approach isn’t meeting their needs.”
“At the end of the day, we want people to walk out feeling like they were taken care of by people who genuinely cared about them,” she added. “This is more than just a job for us, it’s a calling.”
For Yarman, the opportunity to practice healthcare in the communities where she and her sister grew up makes their work particularly meaningful.
“It means a lot, because this is home,” Yarman said. “These aren’t just communities where we happen to work. These are our people.”
Yarman said practicing healthcare in a small community creates relationships that extend well beyond the walls of the practice.
“You take care of people you went to school with, former teachers, friends, neighbors, entire families, and sometimes multiple generations of the same family,” she said. “You see your patients at ballgames, school events, the grocery store, and around town. That creates a connection that goes far beyond an appointment.”
That connection also extends to the broader small-business community, Yarman said. She and Burchett were especially proud to see other Northeast Kentucky businesses recognized during the SBDC awards ceremony.
“One of our favorite parts of the awards ceremony was looking around and seeing so many familiar faces and so many Olive Hill and Northeast Kentucky businesses being recognized,” Yarman said. “There are some incredible people investing their time, money, and energy into making our communities better, and we are proud to be among them.”
The sisters chose to establish Carter Healthcare in the region because they believe local residents should have access to quality healthcare and expanded services without having to routinely travel long distances.
“We chose to build Carter Healthcare here because we believe people in our region deserve access to great healthcare and new opportunities without always having to drive an hour or more to find them,” Yarman said. “Being able to contribute to that is something we’re very proud of.”
Ultimately, Yarman hopes the award reflects more than clinical knowledge or professional accomplishments. She hopes it reflects the relationships the providers have built with their patients, their team and their community.
“We obviously want to be knowledgeable providers and provide excellent healthcare, but being a good healthcare professional is about more than just knowing medicine,” Yarman said. “It’s listening, advocating for your patients, admitting when you don’t know something and being willing to find the answer, and being willing to do things differently because healthcare isn’t one-size-fits-all.”
“We hope this award reflects the relationships we’ve built with our patients, the team we’ve built around us, and our commitment to this community,” she added. “And hopefully, years from now, no matter how much Carter Healthcare grows, people will still walk through our doors and feel the same thing: these people care about me.”
Burchett said that gratitude was ultimately at the heart of receiving the recognition.
“Our community has supported us, trusted us with their families, encouraged us, and allowed us to grow,” Burchett said. “We don’t take that for granted and we thank God for the opportunity to serve Him where we grew up.”