REACH Program
Rural Experience in Appalachian Community Health
The Rural Experience in Appalachian Community Health (REACH) program will immerse students in community health in rural southeast Ohio for four weeks from May 19, 2025 through June 13, 2025 upon completion of year one at Heritage College. This program emphasizes the connection between public health and medicine through engagement with local non-profit social support organizations and a family medicine clinical experience. Students will have the opportunity to spend time in both the OhioHealth O'Bleness Family Medicine Residency Clinic and Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Agency (HAPCAP). Clinic time will include participation in an ongoing quality improvement project aimed at connecting patients in need to local resources (i.e. nutrition, transportation, housing, etc.), as well as participating in patient care with physicians and residents. A $1,500 stipend will be awarded to two students selected to participate in this program. The application is currently open and the deadline to apply is February 1, 2025.