Once again, UK HealthCare is expanding its reach in a way that will prove beneficial to both the university and the state.

UK announced Nov. 28 that it was forming a partnership with Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester, Ky., to manage the hospital’s operations. The new arrangement will be an expansion on the contractual services UK already provides to Clark Regional.

The hospital and UK will likely sign an agreement Feb. 1 to begin the new arrangement, according to a news release. That will include the formation of a committee to study how the hospital can raise revenues, control spending and better serve health needs in the community, said Dr. Michael Karpf, UK’s executive vice president for health affairs, in a Nov. 29 Kernel article.

The partnership with Clark Regional is not UK’s first health-related expansion into Kentucky communities this school year, and it shouldn’t be the last. In October, the College of Medicine announced it would be adding sites at Morehead State University and Murray State University, both of which offer many benefits to all those involved.

Steps like these help connect the university to communities outside Lexington, which will be crucial for UK to get the public support it needs for the Top 20 Business Plan.

When people throughout Kentucky recognize the value and benefits of programs at UK, they will be more likely to support higher funding for the university.

These expansions also provide UK medical students with more diverse opportunities for their training by giving them the chance to learn and practice outside an urban setting.

Most importantly, these expansions don’t just help UK’s reputation and students — they help Kentuckians.

By bringing their expertise on health-care techniques and management to the rest of the state, UK’s health professionals are helping raise the quality of care statewide.

Partnerships like these should serve as a model for UK as it continues to find new ways to make the university a more successful and prestigious institution.

For the sake of both students and Kentuckians, UK should keep up this pattern of greater involvement in medical care throughout the state.