The Appalachian Regional Commission celebrated its 20th anniversary by honoring commission pioneers and founders at a Washington, DC, gathering. A new program aimed at lowering the region's school dropout rate was announced at the banquet. State plans and investment programs and a finish-up program accomplishments were approved at a business…

Summarizes the 20-year history of the Appalachian Regional Commission's innovative, flexible, $550M model health care delivery system. Cites achievements in establishing primary care clinics; tackling black lung disease; and expanding health manpower, health education, maternal and child health care, and rehabilitation centers. (NEC)

Traces Southern West Virginia Regional Health Council's decade of delivering/linking cradle-to-grave health services for 500,000 rural residents. Describes microwave communications radio network; clinics; services in family planning, genetic counseling, prenatal care, maternal/child care, nutrition, heart/respiratory disease screening, renal…

Describes new Appalachian Regional Commission model health care program linking expectant mothers/infants with volunteers familiar with available resources to provide prenatal medical care, assistance in modifying personal habits potentially harmful to unborn infants, nutritional supplements and advice, and social service assistance. Includes 1982…

Appalachian Regional Commission accomplishments from 1983-1985 included education projects focusing on basic skills, vocational education, and school dropout reduction serving some 100,000 people for $11.5 million and health projects placing 350 physicians in underserved areas. Future proposals and resources may focus on special areas within…

Describes 11 Appalachian Regional Commission funded projects designed to improve education in Kentucky, many of which focus on dropout prevention, including Laurel County Alternative School, Owsley County Dropout Prevention Program, ADOPT, Pine Mountain Settlement School, Technical Assistance Grant, potential projects, documentary on dropout…

Describes three state-initiated programs that address the challenge of providing access to health care for Appalachia's rural residents: a traveling pediatric diabetes clinic serving eastern Kentucky; a telemedicine program operated out of Knoxville, Tennessee; and a new medical school in Kentucky dedicated to training doctors from Appalachia for…

In Appalachian Alabama, AlabamaREAL helps individuals, schools, and rural communities grow through hands-on entrepreneurship education. School-based businesses teach students to recognize business opportunities; encourage participatory learning; and meet the needs of small, rural communities. The Appalachian Regional Commission provides schools…

Describes the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Hazmat Training Program (Beckley, WV). It is the largest program in the nation for training skilled workers to safely handle toxic and hazardous wastes. This program has produced more than 450 certified instructors, who, in turn, have trained more than 18,000 workers. (LP)

Ten-year-old WWVU-TV serves 45,000 K-12 students in a 29 county area of northern West Virginia. Also, during the current semester 1,167 students from West Virginia University are enrolled for college "telecourses". (BR)

Allied health professionals are those (exclusive of physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses) who provide health care in support of or supplementing other health professionals. The Regional Technical Institute enables students from 26 colleges and junior colleges in Alabama and Tennessee to train in 14 allied health professions. (BR)

Describes 3 of 17 innovative educational programs funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Southern Governors' Association. Projects were designed to meet at least one of the four National Education Goals important to ARC: school readiness; adult literacy and lifelong learning; math-science education; and dropout prevention. (LP)

REAL Enterprises, Inc. (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) is an academic program that helps students learn the basics of starting and nurturing a new business. West Virginia is 1 of 17 states offering the program with the goal of preparing youth to take advantage of economic opportunities in their own communities. (LP)

Rural Marion County (Tennessee), the town of Kimball, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and a local community college founded a regional skills center. The center offers a 2-year associate of science degree and classes in GED preparation, parenting, drug abuse prevention, cosmetology, and air conditioning and refrigeration. It has expanded…

This is the story of how the people of Appalachia have reversed the trends of 14 years ago to build for themselves a future more to their liking. In addition to new industries and schools, there is a new economic, social and psychological foundation in Appalachia. (BR)