REACH affiliations with universities in Kentucky and North Carolina have been driven both by REACH programmatic development and by broader UK initiatives and partnerships to address the health care needs of vulnerable rural populations in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Appalachian corridor. Morehead State University in eastern Kentucky and Murray State University in western Kentucky are both associated with:
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An existing Area Health Education Center.
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A newly established UK Center for Rural Health (CRH) that hosts a REACH Field Office.
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A new satellite campus for UK and jointly-sponsored education programs in the health sciences, including the UK College of Medicine Rural Physician Leadership Track.
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A regional medical center affiliated with the CRH and UK HealthCare.
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This combination and integration of educational institutions and programs, health care providers and services, and clinical and translational research opportunities and support, follows the formula established by the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health in Hazard, Kentucky, in its successful triple mission of health care delivery, education and training, and research engagement (see Centers for Rural Health on the left navigation bar).
The emerging affiliation between UK's CCTS and Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, seeks to export this formula to a region with similar health care needs and vulnerable populations.