Philips and Emery School of Nursing are working to bring preventive healthcare to temporary farm workers and their families in Georgia. Temporary farm workers and their families often lack access to healthcare.

For both adults and children, lack of healthcare continuity can impact long-term health and development.

Working with farm workers and families in remote corners of south west Georgia, Emory Nursing School students are using Philips mobile health tools such as the Lumify tablet-based ultrasound and the HeartStart AED.

The collaboration is part of Emory’s Farm Worker Family Health Programme (FWFHP. In addition to Philips and Emory School of Nursing, the collaboration includes other Georgia universities as well as local partners.

The programme provides access to care for farmworkers and families in Colquitt, Tift, Brooks and Cook counties. It offers a faculty-led educational training and service-learning opportunity for Emory University undergraduate and graduate nursing students, in partnership with students from other health profession education programmes across Georgia.

The Farm Worker Family Health Program, now in its 30th year, is organised by the Emory School of Nursing and held in partnership with the Georgia Ellenton Farmworker Health Clinic in Colquitt County and a host of state, local and educational partners. The FWFHP and Ellenton Clinic anticipate caring for as many as 9,000 individuals over the next year.

Over two weeks each June, a team of 120 faculty members and students from various disciplines provide well-child care and screenings (vision, hearing, blood pressure, BMI, fine motor skills, etc.) for migrant children enrolled in a summer school programme in Colquitt County, and evening clinics for adult migrant farmworkers on the H-2A visa programme, with health screenings, focused care, medications and referrals to address health issues.

“These workers and their families are the backbone of the agriculture industry. Their work is physically demanding, so providing this access to care is essential,” said Erin Ferranti, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, director of the FWFHP and assistant professor at the Emory School of Nursing. “This programme can only thrive through partnership with innovative organisations focused on health equity, and Philips’ support not only helped us during this year’s two-week FWFHP, but will support the farmworkers throughout the year through the Ellenton Clinic.”

Federally funded through the Georgia Department of Community Health, the Ellenton Clinic is solely dedicated to agriculture workers and their families, providing primary healthcare for infants through adults. The Emory School of Nursing recently received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration to purchase a mobile van to provide care to workers who have challenges visiting the clinic. Along with the Philips ultrasound and AEDs, Philips’ support will aid in the purchase of medical equipment to furnish the mobile van, enhancing health access to those most in need.

“We are always considering ways that we can address the health concerns of local migrant farmworkers, including resources to help bring care to them where they live and work,” said Leigh Hendley, director of the Ellenton Clinic. “Support from Philips, as well as the ultrasound equipment and the AEDs, will greatly expand our ability to offer services out in the community and supplement the care we provide in the clinic.”

“The Farm Worker Family Health Program is a great example of a community mobilising to extend access to care to a vital and vulnerable population,” said Jeff DiLullo, chief region leader, Philips North America. “Access to care is at the core of our purpose at Philips. We seek partners like Emory University who share our commitment to improving health equity for underserved populations. The ongoing work at the Ellenton Clinic is impactful for the faculty, students, clinicians and, most importantly, the farmworkers.”