NEWS RELEASE – July 8, 2026
Larian Selected for 2026 BRIGHT Kentucky Class
Hazard, KY – Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) announces that Nika
Larian, Vice President of Wellness, has been selected for the 2026 BRIGHT Kentucky Class.
Larian commented, “As someone deeply committed to improving the health and well-being of Eastern Kentucky, I’m honored to be selected for BRIGHT Kentucky. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn alongside other leaders who are dedicated to advancing our Appalachian communities. The program’s focus on building leadership capacity, strengthening collaboration, and advancing community and economic development aligns closely with ARH’s vision for a healthier Appalachia. I’m excited to bring those connections and insights back to support our work in prevention, wellness, and community-centered care.”
BRIGHT Kentucky is a leadership development program that began in 2019. The program is for young professionals ages 21-40 living in the 54 counties that comprise the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The goal of BRIGHT Kentucky is to impact community and economic development. The program is funded through an ARC grant and private funding from the Whitaker Foundation, AEP Foundation/Kentucky Power, and other donors.
“Nika’s selection for the 2026 BRIGHT Kentucky class is a reflection of the incredible talent and dedication she brings to everything she does, and we’re proud to see her leadership recognized. We know she will bring back and use all that she gains from this opportunity to help ARH grow and be an even stronger community partner,” comments Roy Milwee, Chief Ambulatory Officer for ARH.
Members of the BRIGHT Kentucky class will attend five sessions in different areas of Kentucky. Sessions focus on building and honing communication, collaboration, consensus building, visioning, and community engagement skills. The primary goal of these sessions is to help members of the 2023 BRIGHT Kentucky class understand and see the connections, backgrounds, conditions, and more that make up a local economy to impact sustaining growth and change.
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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.