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MONROE (Louisiana) NEWS-STAR April 24, 2008
Students take health care to farms
By Keli Jacobi
It's a subtle yet powerful reminder that agriculture has been an integral part of Louisiana's economy since King Cotton reigned supreme. More profitable crops such as corn may dominate today, but the Deep South still carries evidence of agriculture's beneficiaries. Not so evident are the diverse groups of laborers at the heart of Louisiana's farming communities — workers who often represent the most medically underserved populations in America. The North Louisiana Farm Workers Health Project may change all that. Third-year medical students at the LSU-Health Sciences Center in Shreveport hope to fulfill the pilot project's goal of knocking down barriers that stand in the way of providing health care to migrant and uninsured farm workers. The students provide easy access to health care by treating and screening laborers where they are — on the farm — rather than having workers come to them. Their services are provided free of charge. Last Saturday, seven students and a faculty member, Dr. Seth Berney, saw a steady flow of workers in Oak Ridge, a village of fewer than 200 souls bound by thousands of acres of farmland in Morehouse Parish. Third-year medical student Henry Barham, who is from Oak Ridge, said the project coincides with spring and fall harvest seasons. "There are good people working on farms," Barham said. "But sometimes it's difficult to provide health care for yourself, let alone somebody else, with the high cost of farming and poor returns." Farm owners have offered barns or trailers to conduct the clinics, but in the absence of such structures, the medical students erect tents. The M.A.S.H.-like setting creates an environment in which workers can be treated for common ailments manageable in a mobile health-care setting. "It's very refreshing to be outside, more relaxing," said Barham, standing near one such makeshift clinic last Saturday. "This brings us back to what health care started as." The clinic occupied a conspicuous place next to a cotton gin and Oak Ridge's empty, red-bricked high school. Nearby, third-year medical student Tyler Auschwitz listened intently as he pressed a stethoscope against the chest of 56-year-old farm manager Jimmy Wilson. Wilson sported a John Deere cap and a quick smile as he accommodated Auschwitz's request to breathe deeply. His leathery hands attested to a lifetime spent outdoors. Wilson, who came by "just to get checked out," pointed to a scar near the base of his skull. "That there's when I got hit with a hydraulic hoe," he explained. The free clinics offer screenings for a range of diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and HIV. Pregnancy tests and child exams can also be given, Barham said. Wilson passed on an offer for a colon screening which would've required a rectal examination. Patients diagnosed with more serious conditions are referred to one of the north Louisiana charity hospitals in Shreveport or Monroe. Documentation of the visit and a contact number for follow-up questions are provided. But patients aren't the only ones who stand to gain from the visit. The medical students learn by doing as they interact with the workers in an atmosphere not easily duplicated in the classroom. Third-year medical student Andy Dalovisio said the idea for the project stemmed from a sister who attended Emory University, which started a similar free farm-clinic program in 1996. Students there treated 150 farm workers in the first year. Ten years later, more than 1,400 workers received treatment. Barham said the Emory project demonstrated the potential for similar long-term success in north Louisiana. Barham said the group saw about 15 workers last Saturday; several sought immunizations for young children and had to be turned away. "That's something we hope to be able to offer by the fall harvest season," Barham said. Offering treatment for a broader range of ailments is another goal, he said, along with expanding the project to treat laborers in other industries, such as oil and gas, or poultry processing. "Ultimately, we'd like a program that goes not just to farms, but factories and other places employing medically underserved people," Barham said. "We've almost had to keep it small to start with, because it is a pilot project," he said. Sometimes the medical treatment the worker receives is incidental to the preventive health care and supplies they are given. "After talking to Emory, we realized little things can help with preventive care," said Barham. "Hats and sunscreen, for example, to limit their exposure to the sun." Bottles of shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste were among the free items distributed to encourage good hygiene at Saturday's clinic. Barham and Dalovisio started formulating plans for the project last summer, acquiring funds from private companies and individuals who supported the idea. Enlisting the help of the other students was "not hard at all," according to Barham. The project has also received resounding support from LSUHSC-Shreveport administrators and physicians, many who will oversee patient care, financial and logistical issues, and the education of the students. Barham said the project fell in line with the charitable mission of the medical center. "Basically it comes down to helping people regardless of financial burdens, that's why it's a great opportunity for us," he said. The hospital's Department of Medicine supplied the gowns, gloves and medical equipment used by the students for the clinic. Barham would like to hold another clinic in Ruston in late May or early June, though a firm date hasn't been established. A clinic will be offered in the Shreveport area on May 10, he said. "This is a neat way to get back to the roots of what it's all about," said Barham.
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