05.2018 Celebrating Victories in Increasing Access

On May 2, 2018, more than 150 health center staff and Ag worker advocates gathered at the NACHC Conference on Ag Worker Health General Session in San Antonio to celebrate victories in increasing access to care for America’s agricultural workers and their families.  3 years earlier, also in San Antonio at this same conference, the Ag Worker Access 2020 Campaign was launched in response to a mutual concern for this special population. 
 
Since the inception of the Campaign, UDS numbers have been steadily increasing, thanks to the commitment and investment by health centers in addressing Ag worker social determinants of health.  According to UDS data, 957,529 Ag workers and their families were served in 2016, an increase of 47,357 over 2015, which is definitely reason to celebrate!
 
During this interactive session, participants were led in an exercise by NCFH staff to create "Victory Circles" celebrating and documenting health centers’ strategies contributing to this nationwide increase in access. Participants at each table were asked to discuss and then document activities that they were doing/had done to increase access to care. Participants were then encouraged to share their achievements with the full group attending the session. 
 
Additionally, NCFH announced its first annual Increase Access to Care Promising Practices Awards winners, Sea Mar Community Health Centers (WA) and Altura Centers for Health (CA). Both health centers have been active participants in NCFH’s Increase Access to Care Program, designed to assist health centers in accurately identifying, registering and reporting their Ag worker patients.  Both health centers were acknowledged for their innovative approaches to increasing access to care for Ag Workers and their families.
 
Finally, also as part of the celebration, 10 lucky participants received an artwork print from NCFH’s Commemorative Artwork series.