Remaining Challenges

The “Appalachianization” of rural America and around the world

Power and Politics in Health Care, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

John Gaventa discusses the “Appalachianization” of rural America, a trend of rising inequality, poverty, environmental damage, and deficit of public services across the U.S. No longer the exception, Gaventa emphaszies injustice in the Clearfork Valley as being relevant to the global stage, too–such as in Mozambique and Nigeria, mineral-rich countries where absentee land ownership and …

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The Elliot’s cement picnic table, a neighborhood fixture

Pre-Existing Conditions, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Howard Elliot III, grandson of Howard and Elsie Elliot from St. Charles, Va., discusses the region’s declining population and its effect on housing. He shares the story of his efforts to salvage his grandparents’ front yard cement picnic table, which heralded from a local program for retired miners known as “The Happy Pappys”. Follow this …

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Population decline and water runoff in southwest Virginia: Bonnie Blue

Pre-Existing Conditions, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Howard Elliot III, grandson of Howard and Elsie Elliot from St. Charles, Va., elaborates on how steady population decline in southwest Virginia has created barriers to his work relocating rail lines. He names Bonnie Blue as a good example of why justification for the expense of construction projects like these is increasingly difficult to secure. …

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On the evolution of treatment and maintenance for opioid addiction in St. Charles, Va.

Cultural Encounters, Personal/Professional Growth, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Art Van Zee discusses the evolution of treatment for opioid addiction, including monumental shifts particularly valuable to rural communities such as St. Charles, Va. He explains that access to methadone maintenance treatment is extremely restricted for many people in isolated regions, as it would incur unsustainable expenses (both financial and time-related) just to get to …

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Did we make a difference? Margaret Ecker and Rosie Hammond reflect.

Impact of SHC, Personal/Professional Growth, Philosophies/Evolving Concepts, Pre-Existing Conditions, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Margaret Ecker and Rosie Hammond grapple with the question: did we (the SHC) make a difference? Margaret shares how, in reflection of Art Van Zee’s insight to ongoing addiction throughout southwest Virginia and the Appalachian region, there are new challenges to address, different than those tackled by the SHC in the 60s and 70s. From …

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Differences between West and East TN core injustices and approach to community organizing

Philosophies/Evolving Concepts, Power and Politics in Health Care, Pre-Existing Conditions, Racial Disparities, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Sharon Roberson describes community organizing work over time and the growing tension that transpired among Vanderbilt students from one summer to the next, particularly in light of apartheid in South Africa and the ongoing domestic fight for civil rights. Many students sought to transition from healthcare to more expansive, basic racial justice issues. Roberson notes …

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Art Van Zee on the opioid epidemic in southwestern Virginia

Cultural Encounters, Personal/Professional Growth, Philosophies/Evolving Concepts, Power and Politics in Health Care, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Art Van Zee was among the first physicians in the U.S. to warn people about the dangers of OxyContin and take a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company head on for its marketing blunders. He describes his witness of the problem rapidly develop into a nationwide opioid epidemic by the late 1990s from his work at a …

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Where can the SHC go from here?

Power and Politics in Health Care, Remaining Challenges, Stories / By

Charles “Boomer” Winfrey and Maureen O’Connell ruminate on work left to be done in the eastern Tennessee region of Appalachia. Their focus pertains mostly to the ongoing need for augmented healthcare resources, drug education and reform, and meeting the needs of those left in the coverage cracks as a repercussion of Tennessee’s decision not to …

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