Buckeye Hills Hocking Valley Regional Development District, The Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA), Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission received a2011 Innovation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation for the Connecting Appalachia Middle-Mile Fiber Optic Network project.

Connecting Appalachia is a partnership between the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce) and Horizon Telcom that will fill broadband coverage gaps in 34 rural Ohio counties with a 1,960-mile fiber optic backbone network.

When completed, the new world-class network will connect healthcare facilities, educational institutions, government agencies and businesses that need to upgrade existing broadband capabilities or be connected where no service is available.

NADO promotes programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery and comprehensive strategies. The association's Innovation Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and partnering organizations for improving the economic and community competitiveness of our nation's regions and local communities.

The Connecting Appalachia project was also awarded the Trailblazer Award in which the award-winning projects were judged by a group of peers to recognize exceptional projects that demonstrate unique innovation. Award winners were showcased during NADO's 2011 Annual Conference. Executive Director, Misty Casto, attended the conference and accepted the award on behalf of Buckeye Hills.

"Creative projects like Connecting Appalachia Middle-Mile Fiber Optic Network advance the economic growth and sustainability of our nation's regions and communities. For more than 20 years, NADO's Innovation Award has provided regional development organizations throughout the nation a unique opportunity to showcase their important work and their critical role in promoting economic development for rural and small metropolitan communities," said NADO President Tim Ware, Executive Director of the Mid-East Commission in Washington, North Carolina.

Buckeye Hills-HVRDD also won an Innovation Award for its BizNet Business Retention Program. Through a grant from The Ohio Department of Development, BizNet partners in a 12-county region made nearly 150 visits with key employers since the beginning of 2011. The goal was to help identify and assist companies with possible resources. BizNet also created a regional software tracking system and brand presence for ongoing use. The BizNet Report is available at www.buckeyehills.org/oaces/biznet.

Culture change is the common name given to a national movement for the transformation of older adult services based on person-centered values and practices.

According to the Ohio Person-centered Care Coalition, this is a philosophical approach to nursing home care that honors and respects the voice of elders and those working closest with them. It involves a continuing process of listening, trying new things, seeing how they work, and changing things in an effort to individualize care and de-institutionalize the nursing home environment.

Person-centered care is not about more forms, more lists, more reporting, or more work. It is about finding a decent and kind way to serve older adults that makes their lives and the lives of their caregivers more meaningful, a common-sense approach to bringing care back into caregiving at the nursing home and enriching the lives of those that live live and work there.