The Winding Roads Health Consortium Advised Fund was established with the Jackson County Community Foundation (JCCF) in 2003. “Having this fund at JCCF will allow the Winding Roads Health Consortium to provide continued support for community growth,” said Chuck Conner, WRHC Site Coordinator. “Our two areas of focus are educational scholarships that are awarded annually in Roane and Jackson Counties and health care mini-grants that are presented to those organizations who are working to improve access to health care and health care status of our area residents.”
The WRHC serves both Roane and Jackson Counties, and is one of thirteen organizations in the West Virginia Rural Health Educational Partnership (WVRHEP). The WVRHEP’s main goal is to increase the number of primary care professionals practicing in rural West Virginia which in turn improves the health status of the area’s residents.
“In Roane and Jackson Counties, there are a variety of community-based health, social and educational agencies which provide opportunities for our students in the health profession to gain rural clinical, community service and research experience. Our program is governed by a partnership of higher education, local communities and state government providing a range of health care and health promotional activities for rural residents throughout the state,” said Conner.