Overview
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers and Health Centers in the Southeast
Farmworkers are central to Florida's 6.2 billion dollar agricultural industry, second only to tourism in economic importance. According to the 2000 Larson's Enumeration Profile Study commissioned by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), there are an estimated 286,000 farmworkers and their family members in Florida and 31 counties have at least 1500 farmworkers. HRSA's Migrant Health Center program provides support to health centers to deliver comprehensive, high quality, culturally-competent preventive and primary health services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families. Florida has 13 Migrant/Community Health Centers (MHCs) that served more than 70,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers in 2006. Georgia has an estimated 90,000 farmworkers of which 12,500 were served in 2006 through a statewide migrant voucher program. Mississippi has an estimated 18,000 farmworkers but currently has no migrant health centers. Nonetheless Mississippi health centers served 1200 farmworkers in 2006. Alabama served 5600 farmworkers in 2006.
Southeast Migrant Health Coordinator
The Southeast Migrant Health Coordinator is a resource person for migrant health centers and farmworker programs in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The Southeast Migrant Health Coordinator's Activities include but are not limited to...
- Stimulating the creation of new health access points and the expansion of medical capacity and services for farmworkers
- Assisting with local and regional needs assessment and strategic planning to serve farmworkers
- Facilitating the coordination of health and support services
- Organizing training and technical assistance on farmworker issues
- Disseminating information and resources
- Assisting with the planning and development of programs and services such as outreach, cultural competence and language access
There are regional migrant health coordinators in the NW, OR, CA, SW, NE, and Mid-Atlantic regions. Contact Erin Sologaistoa for more information.
There are also numerous national organizations sponsored by HRSA to help health centers effectively meet the needs of their farmworker populations. You will learn about these and other resources in this section of the FACHC web site.