Access equipment like a wheelchair or text to speech translator can provide independence and a higher quality of life for people living with disabilities.

But in eastern Kentucky, access to those resources can be limited.

As our Mackenzie Spink reports, the new Appalachian Center for Assistive Technology in Morehead will open doors for Kentuckians with mobility and communication needs.

The Appalachian Center for Assistive Technology, or a Cat, is a partnership between the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences and UK Saint Clair to provide a much needed service in this area of Kentucky, according to the center's director.

Kentucky has some of the highest disability rates in the United States, and we have some of the highest rates of disability related health and health care issues.

And unfortunately, Eastern Kentucky also has some of the highest rates in all of Kentucky.

So it's essential for us to be able to get the equipment to people, as quickly as possible to allow them to be active in their community.

Assistive technology is any product that maintains or improves the function of someone with a disability.

This can include functions in communication, mobility, hearing or vision, and more.

Assistive technology is everything from high tech to low tech.

If you have a wheelchair, is a form of assistive technology.

If you have, a special grip to open a bottle so someone not able to grab and to hold just their food or their toothbrush.

We have devices that allow them to hold on to it.

Doctor coachman says access to assistive technology means access to independence, dignity, or even work opportunities.

So being able to brush your teeth, comb your hair, guess what?

I just give you quality of life.

Being able to feed yourself have just given you independence.

We also have, on one of our demonstration sites, and I guess is some say, someone who has significant paralysis and allows them to run all of the devices on their computer.

They can have a job they can do work like everybody else.

One of the services provided at a Cat is equipment repair or refurbishment.

Use wheelchairs, math benches.

We will clean it.

We will completely refurbish it.

Rebuild it, and we get it back out the door.

And those are all free of charge by TW students.

You need to know how to fix a wheelchair so they do it as a special elective.

We're hoping to do the same here with PA students.

To teach you how to fix stuff.

Education and training are another focus of the center.

Students can learn to repair equipment and create new assistive technology solutions.

One thing that is really important for us here at all of our centers is we are fully accessible for good.

We love working with students with and without disabilities.

Our students with disabilities are actually content experts.

They understand their conditions better than anyone, so why have them just be someone I'm going to do work 2 or 4.

It's like, no.

They're a crucial part of the creative team to help bridge the affordability gap in assistive technology.

It also provides short term equipment loan programs.

For Kentucky Edition I'm Mackenzie Spink.

The new center in Morehead is the second a cat location.

The original sign is still up and running at the Center of Excellence in Rural Health in Hazard.