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PROJECT HISTORY AND COMMUNITY SERVED

In October 2004, the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association (SCPHCA) became the grantee for the South Carolina Agricultural Worker Health Program (SCAgWHP) (formally known as the South Carolina Migrant Worker Health Program). The mission of the SCAgWHP is to improve the health status of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families (MSFW) in South Carolina by providing and promoting culturally and linguistically competent health care and health related services.

SERVICES PROVIDED, DELIVERY METHOD, AND STAFFING

The SCAgWHP served as the medical home for 2,074 unduplicated patients. The Program currently provides primary care (family practice/internal medicine, OB/GYN, and pediatrics), behavioral/mental health services, dental, vision, podiatry, chiropractic, dermatology, ancillary (laboratory and radiology), emergency care, and pharmacy services. In addition, the SCAgWHP's scope of service includes the provision of outreach and enabling services such as transportation, translation/interpretation, health screening/assessment, health and social services referrals, follow-up, basic counseling, health education, and health advocacy.

UTILIZATION TABLES

The SCAgWHP is a Migrant Health Voucher Program.  As such, the Program utilizes a network of fee-for-service providers to render health care services to farmworkers and their families statewide. This service delivery model has been proven effective in addressing the health care needs of MSFW in South Carolina not only from a continuity of care standpoint, but also from a fiscal perspective. Migrant patients move from one area of the state to another in search of work, thereby needing a coordinated system of care that could accommodate this migration. 

The SCAgWHP is administered and staffed by personnel with requisite expertise and experience in agricultural worker health. Led by the Chief Program Officer, who functions as the SCAgWHP Director and who has more than 20 years of managerial program experience, staffing consists of a board-certified (family practice) Clinical Director, bilingual/bi-cultural Program Manager, Outreach Specialist, Outreach/ Administrative Assistant, and quality improvement and support personnel.

Special Needs of the Farmworker Community and Effective Project Response to Identified Issues.  The agricultural worker population has complex health care needs. Farmworkers in SC have a high prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases, as well as tuberculosis, dermatitis, dental caries, substance abuse, and depression. Insufficient prenatal care and low birth weight infants are all too common for farmworker women. Exposure to pesticides and other toxins causes additional health problems for the community. Work-related injuries are among the most common reasons for seeking medical care. To exacerbate the poor health status of the population, farmworkers encounter numerous barriers that adversely impact their health-seeking behavior. Most agricultural workers in the state are of Hispanic/Latin origin (85%) and unable to adequately communicate in English. The nature of their work involves long hours at remote, hard-to-reach fields, and they frequently have limited access to transportation. Further, they are largely indigent, uninsured, and ineligible for Medicaid and other public benefits. 

In a constant effort to address the myriad of issues faced by MSFW, the SCAgWHP provides comprehensive health care and enabling services that are designed to improve the accessibility of quality, culturally appropriate health care services and reduce health disparities for the community. Moreover, partnerships with pertinent local, state, regional, and national collaborators are maintained and developed, and the needs of MSFW are assessed on a continuous basis to effectively and proactively respond to issues as they are identified.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT CARLO J. VICTORIANO BY PHONE AT 803-788-2778 OR EMAIL AT CARLOV@SCPHCA.ORG.