AU provides healthcare outreach for farm workers in Trenton

TRENTON, S.C. (WJBF) – Faculty and students from Augusta University provided health care to nursery workers in Trenton, S.C., throughout the morning and early afternoon Friday, July 12.

The worksite program, now its 19 ^th year, brings healthcare access to agricultural workers, who are predominately Hispanic and Latino.

They often face unique health challenges by nature of their work plus cultural and language barriers.

“This is a wonderful initiative,” says Beth Nesmith, AU Dean of College of Nursing. “These individuals work so hard – both the farmworkers and the people helping them to provide care. The individuals work so hard, and they don’t often have access to care because they’re working, right? So, we come to them.”

Common conditions for the Hispanic and Latino agricultural workers in this area includes heat and pesticide exposure/injury, animal bites, susceptibility to infectious disease, and mental illness, including depression.

They also face specific challenges in terms of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and lung conditions.

This year there is a focus on diabetes risk assessment among workers.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.