Project CARAT

In 2012, the Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN), Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Carl D. Perkins Center partnered to create Project CARAT (Coordinating and Assisting the Reuse of Assistive Technology). Project CARAT is a community outreach, service learning program that aims to make assistive technology and durable medical equipment (DME) more accessible to those who need it in underserved areas of Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (UK CERH) and Carl D. Perkins Center were the original sites for Project CARAT. The UK CERH site is unique in that it is a service learning program and ran by the physical therapy students. Students are trained to clean and refurbish DME to distribute to those in need. Project CARAT has several locations across Kentucky and is now overseen by the Kentucky Assistive Technology Service Network (KATS). For more information about Project CARAT, click here to visit their website.