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THURSDAY, AUGUST 14th 2008. Thursday's event was organized by Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHC), in celebration of the first nationally recognized Farmworker Health Day, and in honor of this growing and underserved population. Community leaders and CHC Senior Leadership spoke on the importance of providing health and social services for this critical indigenous population who is responsible for putting food on our tables. An estimated 350 attendees filled the 200 block of W. Newlove Street in Santa Maria, chosen for the large concentration of indigenous farmworkers living in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Many thanks to the almost 30 Agency partners who participated along with CHC in the street health fair, providing useful information on everything from pesticide education, to legal aid; from domestic violence, to proper nutrition. [*NOTE: A complete list of service organizations is included at the end of this article.]
Three RV's from CHC's fleet of Mobile Medical Units were on-site to provide primary care, emergency dental, and chiropractic services. CHC's Immunization team provided free Tetanus and HPV vaccinations, and roaming CHC staffers were available to answer general health questions. Medical and Dental staff each provided services to more than 120 patients over the course of the 5-hour event. Chiropractors Dr. Pon and Dr. Nhan offered spinal assessments to over 50 attendees, with Immunization staff administering approximately 75 vacinations.
This event would not have been possible without collaboration from Director David Jimenez of Central Coast Ministries. Their contribution was invaluable, offering the use of their Newlove facilities, as well as the help of their tireless volunteer staff. Special thanks also go out to Driscoll Farms for their financial support of the event, as well as providing fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries to eager attendees.
Additional thanks to the Latino Peace Officers Association, who financed the giant pot of homemade chicken pozole soup! The City of Santa Maria graciously provided street permits, barricades and the event stage, and the Santa Maria Recreation & Parks Department involved the kids in fun games and activities.
The week of August 10th celebrates National Health Center Week (NHCW), recognized by communities across the country to honor the service and contributions of America's safety-net of Community Health Centers. Along with CHC's nationwide, Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHC) shares their mission of providing affordable and accessible health care to all people.
For the first time ever, NHCW set aside two days to focus on special populations who are often left outside of the mainstream healthcare system. Health Care for the Homeless Day was observed on Wednesday, August 13th, and the aforementioned Farmworker Health Day was observed on Thursday, August 14th.
In recent years California's Central Coast has experienced an upsurge in the number of indigenous farmworkers living and working in our communities. In response to this burgeoning population, CHC has instituted new outreach practices to better served the Mixtec, Nahua, Triqui and Zapotec immigrants. Programs and events like the Farmworker Health Fair are customized to facilitate culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate health education and prevention services.
In partnership with local organizers, CHC recently developed El Pueblo Entero: Foro Para los Campesinos, a monthly family support group that addresses the concerns of indigenous farmworkers in the Santa Maria Valley.
These monthly public meetings emphasize the importance of preventive health care, as well as facilitate discussions about available health and social services. Personal healthcare needs are discussed, and health education is provided on a number of topics, including; women's health, sexuality, HIV, pesticide exposure, housing, labor laws, and cancer detection. Most recently the forums have focused on mental health issues resulting from culture shock and displacement amount indigenous farmworkers and their families. Tools such as documentary films are employed to spur dialogue about the migration experience.The Farmworker Forum Program, was the brainchild of CHC's Outreach Coordinator, Noemi Velasquez. Along with CHC Grant Writer Gail Tutino, Special Populations Manager Patti Diefenderfer, and Physician's Assistant Carla Hurt, Noemi secured grants to fund the hiring of Mixteo translator and Promatora (community advocate) Natalia Bautista who works with CHC Outreach to facilitate their grass-root advocation.
The Forum Program has garnered national attention and awards, including the Sister Cecilia B. Abhold Award - Western Migrant Stream, presented annually by Farmworker Health Services Inc. (FHSI). The CHC program was also featured in FHSI's 2008 Innovative Outreach Practices Report.The report was created in 2002 to showcase the unique outreach efforts of farmworker health programs and to provide a networking opportunity with other outreach programs. This year's report included many photos photographed by Noemi, including the report's front cover, which features a portrait of three female farmworkers, one of which is Noemi's mother!
Receiving this prestigious award is a testament to the passion and the tireless efforts that Noemi and the Farmworker Outreach team exhibit daily. They truly "walking the talk" of CHC's mission; improving the quality of life for all people on California's Central Coast.
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*CHC Farmworker Health Fair: Service Agency Participants
AG Van, Allan Hancock College, Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access, Boys & Girls Club, CAC, Catholic Charities, CCEHP, Central Coast Literacy Council, Center for Employment Training (CET), CRLA, Domestic Violence Solutions, Employment Development Department (EDD), EOC Migrant Head Start, First Financial Security, First Five Commission, The Fund for Santa Barbara, Girl Scouts of America, Health Linkages, Legal Aid Foundation, Migrant Education Regions 20 & 28, North County Rape Crisis, Pacific Pride Foundation, Santa Maria Recreation & Parks Department, Red Cross, Santa Barbara Family Care Center, SBCPHD-CPSP Program, Santa Maria Healthy Start, Santa Maria Police Department, Unidad Popular Benito Juarez, West Nile Program - Santa Maria.
