This year, in Puerto Rico, staff from NCFHP and three NCFHP-funded sites (Vecinos, Black River and NC Farmworkers Project) presented at the East Coast Migrant Stream Forum:
- Vecinos presented on the process they went through to establish integrated behavioral health services for farmworkers in their region, including a needs assessment, the development of a Mental Health Advisory Council and the approach that they implemented. They also shared the resources that they gathered and created.
- NCFHP central office staff presented with NCFHP Board member Dr. Catherine LePrevost about a collaborative effort with professors from NC State University and Duke University about web-based tools to empower outreach workers and community health workers to effectively partner with researchers on farmworker health research projects.
- Black River Health Services / Manor Unidas presented on the process they undertook after Hurricane Florence to better prepare for future hurricanes. They shared about a current grant funded initiative that involved a thorough process to identify and effectively engage with local partners and leverage local resources to better serve farmworker communities in preparing for and dealing with disasters.
- Medical students from UNC and a provider from Benson Area Medical Center presented on their quality improvement collaboration with NC Farmworkers Project to pilot an innovative intervention for uncontrolled diabetes that involved providing locally produced boxes of vegetables along with education on nutrition and diabetes management to high risk farmworker patients. They shared about the surprising impact the pilot had and highlighted its cost-effectiveness.
Congratulations to Marianne Martinez, Executive Director of Vecinos, who was presented with this year’s Steve Shore Community Catalyst Award!