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 agricultural workers in South Carolina not only from a continuity of care standpoint but also from a fiscal perspective. Agricultural worker patients often relocate across different areas of the state in search of work, requiring a coordinated healthcare system that can support their mobility.
Special Needs of the Farmworker Community and Effective Project Response to Identified Issues.
The agricultural worker population has complex health care needs. In SC, agricultural workers 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 agricultural worker 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, agricultural workers encounter numerous barriers that adversely impact their health-seeking behavior. 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 agricultural workers, the SCAgWHP provides comprehensive health care and enabling services that are designed to improve the accessibility of appropriate health care services and reduce health gaps for the community. Moreover, partnerships with pertinent local, state, regional, and national collaborators are maintained and developed, and the needs of agricultural workers are assessed on a continuous basis to effectively and proactively respond to issues as they are identified.