| The need for health
services to migrant and seasonal farm workers was the basis
for developing the original primary care service program for
Southern Jersey Family Medical Center, Inc. and this component
of today’s services is still a priority. Southern Jersey
Family Medical Centers operates a network of multi-service community
health centers where medical professionals provide low-cost,
high-quality medical and dental services to migrant farm workers
and low-income residents of South Jersey.
Every spring South Jersey is visited by over 20,000 migrant
farm workers and their families, who come to work on the farms
of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem Counties.
Arriving from other points on the migrant trail - Florida,
Georgia, North Carolina - migrant farm workers stop in NJ
during the harvest season to handpick the blueberries, peaches,
tomatoes, cranberries and other fruits and vegetables that
feed the population of the Delaware Valley. Most farm workers
are originally from Mexico, but many are from Central America,
Puerto Rico and Haiti.
The lifestyle of migrant farm workers makes it difficult
for them to access healthcare when they need it. Many migrants
have limited financial resources, do not speak English, do
not have an automobile or a telephone, and are not aware of
where to access healthcare since they are only in New Jersey
for a short period of time. Long working hours and tight living
conditions in farm labor camps also result in particular health
problems for farm workers.
Migrant Health Outreach Team
The role of the Migrant Outreach Team of Southern Jersey
Family Medical Centers is to visit farm workers in the farm
labor camps where they live to spread awareness of the services
the medical centers offer.
Currently, SJFMC’s Migrant Health Program focuses heavily
on health promotion and disease prevention. While individual
health assessments and basic health screenings (blood pressure,
blood sugar, PPDs) often result in scheduling a Center visit
with an SJFMC provider, the goal is to encourage self-sufficiency
and positive behavior change that will affect long-term health
status. During the six-month period from mid-April through
mid-October, Migrant Health Promoters visit farm workers in
over 150 camps. Information is provided about SJFMC’s
services, basic health screenings, individual health assessments,
group health education (based on low-literacy, participatory
educational activities), and case management (including specialist
appointments, referrals for housing, and legal advice).
Farm workers' labor is crucial to the production of a wide
variety of crops in almost every state in the nation. Farm
workers are the poorest group of workers in the United States.
Agricultural employment is currently listed by the Department
of Labor as having the highest rate of fatalities and injuries
among workers in this country.
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