Migrant Health Centers
Migrant Health Centers
Migrant health centers provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care to migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families. They offer services on a sliding fee scale to patients regardless of immigration status.
The centers are administered by the Office of Minority and Special Populations within the Bureau of Primary Health Care, which is responsible for the Health Center Program of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA; a division of the Department of Health and Human Services).
Currently, there are 157 migrant health centers nationwide. These centers receive federal grants under Section 330 (g) of the Public Health Services Act, which partially cover the cost of their services. In a small number of regions that lack the concentration of migrants needed to support a bricks-and-mortar health center, "voucher" programs have been established, which enable farmworkers and their families to receive services from a participating network of health care providers.
According to the 2005 National Agricultural Worker Survey only 22% of farmworkers reported that they or their family members are covered by private health insurance or Medicaid. Since most farmworkers are poor, with an average annual family income of between $12,500 and $14,499, some workers go without medical care even when they need it. Migrant health centers fill an important unmet need for health services for farmworkers and their families.
Who qualifies for care at migrant health centers?
To be eligible for services, an individual must have been principally employed in agriculture for the previous 24 months. Agricultural work is defined as all activities involved with planting, harvesting, or processing crops, but does not include work with livestock. Family members of qualified agricultural workers are also eligible to receive services. Approximately 826,000 migrant or seasonal farmworkers and their family members received care at migrant health centers in 2007.
To locate a community or migrant health center in your area, visit the health center search page at one of the following websites:
U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN)
National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH)
The Farmworker Health Network
The Health Resources and Services Administration works with six national organizations that provide technical assistance to migrant health centers. These organizations specialize in health issues specific to migrant farmworkers.
As part of the Farmworker Health Network, Farmworker Justice, in partnership with the Migrant Clinicians Network, provides training and technical assistance to migrant health centers primarily on issues of occupational and environmental health. Our services include:
- providing training and individualized consultations to clinicians, outreach workers, and promotores de salud (lay health educators);
- developing curricula, evaluation tools and patient education materials;
- conducting advocacy and responding to inquiries on health policy and health law issues;
- writing reports and articles;
- developing and disseminating research; and
- assisting new starts and applicants for health center grants.
Migrant Clinicians Network is the oldest and largest clinical network serving underserved migrant populations. It provides technical assistance to migrant health centers, including on-site and online training, individualized consultations and aids with the development of culturally appropriate materials concerning: recruitment and retention of health center staff; clinical issues; developing clinical leadership; bridge case management and referrals (through its networks such as Track II on diabetes); continuing professional education, peer networking for clinicians, patient education and other clinical resources. It also publishes the Streamline newsletter.
Other organizations providing technical assistance to migrant health centers through the Farmworker Health Network include:
Migrant Health Promotion (MHP) works to strengthen the capacity of farmworker families and communities to improve their health, using peer education and advocacy. Its technical assistance focuses on the development and implementation of its Camp Health Aide and other promotores de salud programs; the development of culturally appropriate training curricula, evaluation tools, patient education and other health education materials; identification of funding opportunities and assistance with grant development; promoting networking among program managers, and promotores, and the dissemination of a promotor(a) newsletter.
Health Outreach Partners (formerly Farmworker Health Services, Inc.) focuses primarily on the development and support of health outreach and enabling services programs; creating health education and prevention materials; promoting cultural competency; and collecting health data on outcome measures, etc.
National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc. promotes the provision of high quality, comprehensive health care that is accessible, coordinated, culturally and linguistically competent, and community-directed for all underserved populations. Its training and technical assistance services focus on: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding initiatives; health center governance and financial operations; educating new medical directors, etc. It also sponsors an annual, national migrant health conference, administers a migrant-health list serve and email distribution group; monitors and recommends policies affecting migrant health centers or their patients; facilitates recruitment and retention of health center staff; develops clinical protocols and tools; and offers accreditation for clinical continuing education, etc.
Finally, the National Center for Farmworker Health offers technical assistance on: leadership development and training; migrant-specific and bi-lingual on-site consultations; development and dissemination of research, training and patient education materials; maintenance of a current and archival library and multi-media resource center; network development and expansion: facilitating navigation of the public health system and the securing care in exceptional circumstances via the Call for Health system; health center governance and management; and recruitment and retention of health center staff.
Expanded Funding for Community Health Centers May Help Farmworkers
In the United States over 17 million people rely on community health centers for access to basic health care. Serving primarily the uninsured and underinsured, these health centers receive federal funding to provide health care for clients based on a sliding scale fee. Because they are such a crucial source of health care to so many Americans, the recent health insurance overhaul and the stimulus package of 2009 gave significantly increased funding to these organizations, and the 2010 health care reform legislation includes about $11 billion over the next five years for expanded programs, facilities and services.
