Eula Hall (October 29, 1927 – May 8, 2021) was an Appalachian activist and healthcare pioneer who founded the Mud Creek Clinic in Grethel in Floyd County, Kentucky.
A self-described "hillbilly activist", Eula was born on October 29, 1927,[1] the second of seven surviving children of Lee D. and Nanny Elizabeth Riley, tenant farmers living in Joe Boner Hollow near Greasy Creek, Kentucky.
[3] 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.
She rose to prominence as an activist as a member of the local 979 community group and the Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization (EKWRO).
[4] In response to the failed OEO health program in Floyd County, in 1973, she established the Mud Creek Clinic in Grethel, Kentucky.
Hall attended one of the early MCHR meetings in 1971, where she met Elinor Graham, one of the first doctors at the Mud Creek Clinic.
The next morning Hall and the clinic doctor pulled a picnic table under a willow tree and treated patients who had scheduled appointments.
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.
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.
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 ongoing effort Hall has devoted to the health and well-being of eastern Kentucky.