NEWS RELEASE – February 3, 2026
Nika Larian, PhD, Named Vice President of Wellness for Appalachian Regional Healthcare
LEXINGTON, KY – Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) has named current Director of ARH External Affairs Nika Larian, PhD, Vice President of Wellness for its multi-hospital healthcare system. Dr. Larian will also continue her responsibilities as Director of External Affairs during this transition period.
As Vice President of Wellness. Dr. Larian will provide executive leadership for ARH’s new lifestyle medicine, nutrition, and preventive health initiatives, with a focus on systemwide coordination and evidence-based care models. Dr. Larian will also oversee the development and management of ARH’s new Lifestyle Medicine Service Line, supporting the integration of nutrition, behavioral change, and preventive care across ambulatory, community, and acute-care settings.
ARH is the first health system in Kentucky to establish a dedicated Lifestyle Medicine Service Line and recently opened the first of its planned Lifestyle Medicine Clinics throughout the ARH service area and has become a leader in Food is Medicine initiatives at the state and national levels.
Dr. Larian will work collaboratively across Ambulatory Services, Community Development, Food Services, Human Resources, and External Affairs to support wellness and preventive health strategies for patients, employees, and communities served by ARH. The role also includes oversight of ARH’s Food Is Medicine initiatives, coalition development, and policy advocacy efforts related to rural health and nutrition-based care.
“Nika brings deep expertise in nutrition policy, program development, and partnership building,” said ARH President and CEO Hollie Harris. “Her leadership will support ARH’s efforts to coordinate lifestyle medicine and preventive health initiatives across the system.”
Dr. Larian brings more than a decade of experience in nutrition and food insecurity across research, policy, and program development. Prior to joining ARH, she served as Senior Nutrition Advisor for Food Safety at USAID, where she led public-private partnerships and multi-million-dollar initiatives focused on improving access to safe, nutritious food, reducing food waste, and strengthening local food systems by working with farmers and local governments in underserved communities. Her background also includes seven years of nutrition research at the University of Kentucky focused on diet-related disease and community health.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to build on the strong work already happening across ARH,” said Dr. Larian. “My focus is on working collaboratively with teams across the system to support practical, evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine approaches that meet people where they are.”
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About Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) traces its roots back to 1955, when the United Mine Workers of America opened the Miners Memorial Hospital system – a network of 10 hospitals dedicated to providing care throughout the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Seventy years later, ARH has grown into a 14-hospital not-for-profit health system that serves more than 500,000 residents of central Appalachia each year. ARH hospitals in Barbourville, Harlan, Hazard, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky, and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, ensure that residents, tucked away in even the most remote areas, can access the highest quality of care without traveling hours from home. ARH’s hospitals, clinics, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores, retail pharmacies, and medical spas boast more than 6,700 employees with a network of more than 1,300 providers, making it the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.