The attitude toward well-being in the Mountain State puts health care workers in a trying position—but one of great importance. Countless forward-thinking individuals work to advance both the field and health of West Virginians every day.
In 1965, Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA), which declared that the Appalachian region of the U.S., while abundant in natural resources and rich in potential, lags behind the rest of the nation in its economic growth and that its people have not shared properly in the nation’s prosperity.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced ordinary Americans—not just economists, manufacturers and businesspeople—to consider and confront the country’s supply chains. Even now, two years after the onset of the pandemic, walking the aisles of a supermarket can reveal bare shelves and empty spaces where certain products should be. As a result, more and more people want to know where their merchandise comes from.
In 2020, while the world was reacting to the global COVID-19 pandemic, West Virginia was simultaneously responding to its own ongoing epidemic: widespread substance use disorder (SUD) and subsequent overdose deaths.
Amid a serious labor shortage, global pandemic, population decline, high unemployment numbers and low labor force participation rates, there are many challenges looming over the hills of West Virginia to prepare and retain a qualified workforce.