In some cases it s specialists moving to rural areas, in some cases itinerant clinics, and in some cases telehealth. More generally, rural health and health care are improving, particularly in Appalachia, and ARC has contributed a lot to these changes. Health professionals are more available. Some mountain hospitals are very impressive. These days you may get stuck on a mountain road behind a mobile magnetic resonance imaging van as well as a coal truck.
Roads are better.
Water and sewage systems are more widely available. Underlying all this is the fundamental issue of jobs and economic development. There remains so much to be done, but rural people are stepping up to the challenge and taking responsibility for their own communities. This interview was conducted by Jack Russell, director of ARC s Customer Relations and External Affairs Division, and by freelance writer Fred D. Baldwin.