The ARC POWER Initiative, formally the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, is a federal grant program run by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a federal-state economic development partnership established by Congress in 1965 and composed of the governors of 13 Appalachian states alongside a presidentially appointed federal co-chair. POWER specifically targets economic diversification in coal-impacted communities across ARC's 423-county service area, funding projects in advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and—directly relevant to this glossary—healthcare.
POWER doesn't fund healthcare delivery infrastructure directly; instead, it funds the workforce and economic-diversification bridge into healthcare careers for communities whose economies were historically dependent on coal employment. A representative example: in 2026, ARC awarded UK St. Claire (University of Kentucky's regional health system) $960,000 for a three-year project, "From Mining to Medicine: Pathways to a Healthier Region," building a healthcare career pipeline across 45 counties in Appalachian Kentucky. Since 2015, this program has invested a cumulative $484.7 million across 564 POWER projects touching 365 counties.
Like most ARC programs, POWER applications route through each state's ARC program manager and Local Development Districts (LDDs) rather than a single national portal. ARC has indicated the FY2027 application window will open August 1, 2026 and close September 30, 2026. For healthcare organizations in ARC's 13-state footprint, POWER represents a workforce-pipeline funding mechanism worth pairing with clinical-capacity investments funded through programs like the Delta Regional Authority's grant programs, which operate on a similar regional-commission model just outside Appalachia.
POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) is a federal grant program run by the Appalachian Regional Commission that funds economic diversification, including healthcare workforce pipelines, in coal-impacted communities across ARC's 423-county service area.
Since 2015, ARC has invested a cumulative $484.7 million across 564 POWER projects touching 365 counties, projected to create or retain nearly 54,000 jobs and prepare roughly 170,000 workers and students.
No. POWER funds the workforce and economic-diversification bridge into healthcare careers rather than clinical infrastructure directly—a 2026 award, for example, funded a healthcare career pipeline across 45 Appalachian Kentucky counties rather than a facility build-out.
ARC has indicated the FY2027 application window will open August 1, 2026 and close September 30, 2026; applications route through each state's ARC program manager and Local Development Districts rather than a single national portal.
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