Montana Migrant Health Program

Montana Migrant Health Program's new dental van.

The Montana Migrant & Seasonal Farmworker Council, Inc.,-- Migrant Health Program, Inc. provides access for migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families to comprehensive, culturally competent primary and preventive health care, transportation, outreach, dental, pharmaceutical, occupational health and safety, and environmental health. These programs use bilingual, bicultural lay outreach workers, health personnel, and culturally sensitive appropriate protocols that cover all life-cycles. The Montana Migrant Health Program is funded through the Bureau of Primary Care, HRSA, and has been in existence since 1971. The program contracts for care outside their scope, with community providers closest to the patients. It has grown from providing primary care referrals in a single county to providing direct preventive health care, nursing, nurse practitioner, and case management services across Montana and as part of a national network. They estimate a target population of 10,400 individuals, and serve about 6000 men, women and children, annually. The program has nine clinics located where the farmworker presence, is highest, in the most remote areas in Northeastern, South Central and Western Montana.

Eligibility for services is based on the person doing more agricultural work than any other kind of work. Anyone wanting to know if they are eligible for our health clinic services should contact our office to make an appointment to apply, regardless of their occupational or economic background.

In the last few years, the Montana Migrant Health Program has expanded to include on-site oral health care and basic mental health and substance abuse counseling and prevention. MMC is constantly seeking collaborative projects to increase access to care for patients, for example, as result of serving as a preceptorship site for the Dental Hygienist Program out of Great Falls, about 350 additional patients were seen in a little less than 2 weeks. MMC has regular seasonal openings for clinical providers and outreach workers, and accept applications all year around. For additional information regarding the Montana Migrant Health Program, contact:

Claudia Stephens
Montana Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Council
3318 3rd Ave. North Suite 100
Billings, MT 59101
406-248-3149
cstephens@180com.net

GUEST ARTICLE from the Montana Migrant Council

By Maria Stephens, Executive Director

Even in these times of heavy mechanization, people still bend over hoes, for long hours, working in the fields. People still stand on ladders to pluck cherries from the trees and lay them gently in heavy bags that cut into their shoulders. People still do farm and ranch work from sun to sun, unable to make the money to live other than out of their car, or in shacks where no one with money would live. And there are still many, too many, unable to get the health care they need without help. Many people do not realize that this is in Montana.

As the Montana Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Council, Inc., prepares to open its spring and summer farmworker health clinics, across Montana, our nurse practitioners, nurses, and registered dental hygienists, prepare to provide primary and preventive health care under some of the most challenging circumstances. The majority of our patients have poor housing or lack of housing, no running water or contaminated water sources, no money or insurance to pay for expensive medications, and lack of transportation, even though they may live in some of the most isolated locations. Often patients have no telephone, may move frequently and yet have to be kept in contact with, and may not be able to comply with referral provider instructions because of language or cultural differences.

Our patients live and work in rural areas, largely isolated from health care and other services they desperately need. Annually, we are able to reach about 6,000 of our estimated target population of 10,400. Without the Montana Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Council, Inc., the majority of farmworkers in Montana would not be receiving health or dental care. We have three year around clinics and 6 seasonal clinics in rural parts of Montana.

In 2002, we received funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish an oral health clinic component to our Migrant Health Program. In our first year, we saw 1,462 patients, which had 2,930 oral health visits to our clinics, as compared to 298 patients and 323 visits, prior to the receipt of funds. Previously, we had only been able to provide direct preventive oral health care education, and refer for treatment of pain/infection, and extraction of teeth. The patients served through our oral health component would not otherwise be receiving oral health care as other programs are either not in their area, or the patient has to move before their name comes up on the waiting list. We are currently looking for dentists willing to provide charitable service for exams, simple fillings and simple extractions.

The Montana Migrant Council, Inc., currently has openings for RNs, NPs, RDHs and persons to travel our service area to register farmworkers for the clinics. Please call (406) 248-3149 if you would like to apply.

We plan to have our first website opening later this month, which will provide more information to those wanting to know more.

For more information regarding the Montana Migrant Council, Inc., call Maria Stephens at 406-248-3149.