Continuing Education Program of Central Appalachian Region Education and Research Center

The Continuing Education program of the Central Appalachian Region Education and Research Center (CARERC) is focused on increasing opportunities for employees and employers in Central Appalachia to receive occupational safety and health education and training. This training is intended to address the unique circumstances of work in Central Appalachia. Our mission is to provide quality, regionally-focused OSH CE opportunities accessible to Central Appalachian practitioners and to develop innovative courses, using the expertise and strengths of CARERC faculty and staff, to address workplace injury and illness in Central Appalachia.

The UK CARERC, the newest of the ERCs, has been receiving funding only since 2012. The CARERC CE training incorporates each discipline of the Center as well as external partnerships. Academic faculty and staff are committed to active participation in the CE program either as members of the planning committee, as speakers for our monthly CARERC seminar, or as course directors. 

The overall goal remains on focusing our CE program on the unique occupational needs of workers in Central Appalachia and expanding access to CE course opportunities for employees and our students remains the driving focus of our work. The following objectives guide this core:

1. Develop opportunities for professional education by enhancing existing CE Courses. We work to leverage the well-developed curriculum of existing CE providers, such as the OSHA Training Institute Education Center at Eastern Kentucky University and medical and nursing and mining CE providers at the University of Kentucky. OSHA TI EC was established in 2003 and primarily serves Federal Region IV, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Center draws upon a total of 17 instructors with more than 250 years of industry experience. OSHA TI EC offers 29 regular courses, examination preparation for the Certified Safety and Health Manager (CSHM), and an OSH Certificate Program for Correctional Safety Officers.
2. Develop new continuing education courses and workshops. One objective of the CARERC is to develop unique course offerings based on the strengths and interests of the faculty in the center and the needs of the working population in the region.
3. Establish an annual Central Appalachian OSH Symposium. We offer an annual symposium held in Central Appalachia which focuses on a topic of current and regional interest in the occupational safety and health community. The purpose of the symposium series is to better equip practitioners to protect the safety and health of workers.
4. Use social media for informing the network of trainees, employees and employers of opportunities for continuing education and knowledge sharing among OSH professionals. Follow CARERC activities and announcements on our Facebook page.
5. Leverage new technologies and instructional designs to offer CE training that is readily accessible to a broad ground of workers across industries and occupations

According to the CDC, in 2023, approximately 2.3 million workers were employed in an agricultural industry. In 2022, those working in the industry had one of the highest fatal injury rates (18.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalents) compared to 3.7 deaths per 100,000 FTE for all US industries. Cited as leading causes were transportation incidents, violence by other people or animals, and contact with work objects. Across the industry, between 2021-2022, there were 21,020 injuries that required days away from work, with one third of those being due to falls.

As a recognized resource for safety across Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia, we invite you to view our curated list of resources to advance agricultural worker safety and health. Should you have any questions or wish to propose an additional resource, please contact our CE Director, Dr. Carolyn Oldham at carolynoldham@uky.edu.

A prominent hazard for agricultural workers is exposure to disease-causing arthropods such as ticks and mosquitoes. The incidence of several tickborne illnesses have been increasing, and agricultural workers who spend increased time outdoors or around livestock may be at a greater risk for exposure to these vectors and the diseases they spread. Working with the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology, we are collecting data on the distribution of medically relevant tick species and common tick-borne pathogens like those causing Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease in Kentucky to gain a greater understanding of where tick vectors and pathogens are, when ticks are active, and what habitat house more robust tick populations in an effort to promote better control and mitigation stratigies.

Farmer and agricultural workers are faced with a great many circumstances over which they have little or no control—weather, crop blight, labor shortages, and the volatility of the market—which can lead to psychological distress. Additional factors that can contribute to stress include financial losses, chronic illness or pain, a sense of work-life imbalance, and/or the physical or social barriers to access mental health services. Significant psychological hazards are associated with agriculture (Gregoire, 2003), including high levels of stress (Booth & Lloyd, 2000), depression and anxiety (Eisner et al., 1998), and increased rates of suicide (Booth et al., 2000; Page & Fragar, 2002). The Southeast Center is committed to the development of community-based support systems informed by local voices to improve farmer mental health and well-being.

Distillery work is physically demanding and fraught with hazards, ranging from chemical exposures and high-temperature processes to musculoskeletal strain. Between 2020 and 2023, 438 injuries were reported among Kentucky’s distillery workers through worker’s compensation first reports of injury, with 91.8% of these injuries resulting in lost time (Mirizaian, 2025).

The goal of occupational safety and health practitioners is to decrease the volume and severity of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in the workplace. Below please find a list of resources curated by our Occupational Safety and Health program’s leadership.