Kentucky Homeplace is recognized at the national, state and local levels as a Community Health Worker (CHW) model that works. Residents of rural Kentucky have unusually high levels of certain diseases, including cancer, heart disease, hypertension, asthma, and diabetes. Lifestyle choices, environmental factors, inadequate health insurance and general lack of understanding of the healthcare system are often cited as contributing factors. To help address these issues, Kentucky Homeplace began in 1994 as a demonstration project in 14 Appalachian Counties. After more than two decades, Kentucky Homeplace CHWs have linked tens of thousands of rural Kentuckians with medical, social and environmental services they otherwise might have gone without.