Revitalizing Health in Rural Appalachia

Route Fifty: Sequatchie County, located in southeastern Tennessee, is home to an active biking community and boasts greenways and sidewalks that encourage walking. Residents there smoke less, have fewer sexually transmitted infections and have better access to exercise opportunities than other Tennesseeans, according to the most recent county health rankings. They’re also less likely to die from injury, stroke and heart disease—all stark turn-arounds from 2010, when the community’s only emergency department closed and residents struggled to find ways to address their health problems.

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