Healthy Food Begins with Healthy Workers
Agricultural work is one of the most hazardous occupations in the U.S. Farmworkers suffer poor health outcomes due to their living and working conditions. Among the most common health issues in farmworker communities are diabetes, hypertension, musculoskeletal injuries, pesticide poisoning, and depression. Unfortunately, few farmworkers have health insurance. According to the most recent National Agricultural Workers Survey, only 31% of farmworkers have some form of health insurance. For those who get injured or fall ill on the job, only a handful of states requires farmworkers to be covered by workers’ compensation coverage to the same extent as other workers. Access to affordable and culturally appropriate healthcare for our nation’s farmworkers is crucial to ensure a just and sustainable food system.
Migrant and community health centers across the country provide primary healthcare services to farmworkers and their families. Anyone, whether or not they carry health insurance, can receive medical care. No one is turned away. Farmworkers are not only the health center’s patients; they are also active members of the health center’s governing boards, ensuring that the health center is responsive to the needs of the community. Through mobile units, outreach workers, and promotores de salud (community health workers), migrant health centers provide health education and medical care where farmworkers work and live.
In 2012, I had the opportunity to join outreach staff at a health center in western North Carolina. We drove to trailers nearby and arrived just as the farmworkers were returning home. The trailers were dilapidated and housed multiple people. One trailer we visited housed 10 men. This was not the first time the outreach staff had visited these workers. We were warmly received as the outreach staff provided information about physical and mental health. They spoke with the farmworkers about pesticide safety, sexual health, and their general well-being. Many had visited the health center and were familiar with the services offered, though a few learned about it for the first time during our visit. It was clear that the outreach staff had gained the workers’ trust.
My experience in North Carolina is not unique. In fact, migrant and community health centers are at the forefront of outreach and the establishment of a patient centered medical home. Yet despite their best efforts, health centers are underutilized by farmworker communities. Recent health center data tells us that only about 20% of farmworkers and their families visited a health center in 2012. Barriers to healthcare are numerous, including but not limited to unavailability of sick leave, affordability, fear of employer retaliation, and lack of knowledge about the health center or the U.S. health care system. We can help break down these barriers. Through community partnerships and education, we can empower farmworkers to engage in their local health center. After all, healthy farmworkers contribute to a healthy, sustainable food system.
Agricultural work is one of the most hazardous occupations in the U.S. Farmworkers suffer poor health outcomes due to their living and working conditions. Among the most common health issues in farmworker communities are diabetes, hypertension, musculoskeletal injuries, pesticide poisoning, and depression. Unfortunately, few farmworkers have health insurance. According to the most recent National Agricultural Workers Survey, only 31% of farmworkers have some form of health insurance. For those who get injured or fall ill on the job, only a handful of states requires farmworkers to be covered by workers’ compensation coverage to the same extent as other workers. Access to affordable and culturally appropriate healthcare for our nation’s farmworkers is crucial to ensure a just and sustainable food system.
Migrant and community health centers across the country provide primary healthcare services to farmworkers and their families. Anyone, whether or not they carry health insurance, can receive medical care. No one is turned away. Farmworkers are not only the health center’s patients; they are also active members of the health center’s governing boards, ensuring that the health center is responsive to the needs of the community. Through mobile units, outreach workers, and promotores de salud (community health workers), migrant health centers provide health education and medical care where farmworkers work and live.
In 2012, I had the opportunity to join outreach staff at a health center in western North Carolina. We drove to trailers nearby and arrived just as the farmworkers were returning home. The trailers were dilapidated and housed multiple people. One trailer we visited housed 10 men. This was not the first time the outreach staff had visited these workers. We were warmly received as the outreach staff provided information about physical and mental health. They spoke with the farmworkers about pesticide safety, sexual health, and their general well-being. Many had visited the health center and were familiar with the services offered, though a few learned about it for the first time during our visit. It was clear that the outreach staff had gained the workers’ trust.
My experience in North Carolina is not unique. In fact, migrant and community health centers are at the forefront of outreach and the establishment of a patient centered medical home. Yet despite their best efforts, health centers are underutilized by farmworker communities. Recent health center data tells us that only about 20% of farmworkers and their families visited a health center in 2012. Barriers to healthcare are numerous, including but not limited to unavailability of sick leave, affordability, fear of employer retaliation, and lack of knowledge about the health center or the U.S. health care system. We can help break down these barriers. Through community partnerships and education, we can empower farmworkers to engage in their local health center. After all, healthy farmworkers contribute to a healthy, sustainable food system.