The Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (Kentucky) trains primary care physicians for practice in rural Appalachian communities. Describes the medical school's creation, funding, and mission; scholarships and provision of textbooks and supplies to students; rural residency requirements; and new approaches to medical education and to…

Discusses interactive telecommunications technology used in statewide distance-education networks. Describes Kentucky Educational Television's Star Channels; the TVA's Upper East Tennessee Educational Cooperative; Mississippi 2000 Project, linking high schools and Mississippi State University; EdNet, West Virginia's satellite network; and the…

Describes a two-year nursing program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (Pennsylvania) that was developed 15 years ago to address the critical shortage of trained nurses in rural northern Pennsylvania. To date, the program has graduated 269 students, of which approximately 75% have taken jobs within the region. (LP)

Innovative solutions to local problems in Appalachia were highlighted at the 1999 Ideas That Work conference. Presentation summaries focus on computer literacy and access to computers for middle school students, collaborative services for preschool children, youth programs, motivating students to attend college, training and technical assistance…

A number of Appalachian initiatives aim to recruit rural doctors. West Virginia's three medical schools require all students to spend time working in rural clinics, where they develop an understanding of and connections to rural communities. In two rural Tennessee counties, East Tennessee State University maintains teaching medical practices…

The Appalachian Regional Commission's 1996 Conference, "Building Blocks for Using Telecommunications and Information Technology," held in Binghamton, New York, focused on the role of telecommunications in Appalachia in education and training, telemedicine, business, and government. Highlights conference presentations on special…

In rural Alleghany County (North Carolina), one of the state's seven "cyber campuses" provides an expanded curriculum and advanced placement college courses to high school students and an array of community college and 4-year college courses to residents, who otherwise would be deterred from further education by their isolated location.…

Describes Woodlands Mountain Institute's leadership program, which helps exceptional West Virginia high school students get into good colleges and serve home communities after finishing college. Describes cases of low-income students assisted by program in college selection and financial aid. Describes colleges' cooperation, peer-counseling…

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…