sentences:  ACP's mission is to improve the health outcomes of rural and underserved communities, particularly those in Central Appalachia, through education, service, and scholarship.In 2003, citing a need to address a higher than normal age adjusted mortality rate (42% higher locally as opposed to the rest of Virginia) and a national pharmacist shortage, local leaders in Buchanan County, Virginia began to explore the possibility of founding a new pharmacy school in the region.Spurred by the existence of the Appalachian School of Law, the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors commissioned County Attorney Frank Kilgore to found the University of Appalachia, College of Pharmacy.