Washington State--percentage of migrants without Basic Health

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

I am a physician and writer, and I'm working on a story about healthcare for migrants in WA state (agricultural, eastern WA). We have the WA Basic Health Plan which allows (at least before recent devastating funding cuts) undocumented workers to get insurance, but many do not sign up for fear of making their status more visible. Does anyone out there work in WA state and have any info or guesses on the numbers of uninsured for me?

I'm also looking for interesting stories to help illustrate the struggles migrants face with regard to health care access and worker safety enforcement.

Can contact me at ccassella@...

Thanks,

Carol Wiley Cassella

In a message dated 4/28/2009 10:54:41 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, dgarcia@... writes:

I am a bit concerned by the phrasing of “Farmworkers and their families may be at higher risk…†as it can create the impression that being a farmworker is a risk factor and carries the possibility of allowing people to jump to the conclusion that migrants carry swine flu. Our Chief Medical Officer, Ed Zuroweste, MD has issued this statement:

Migrant Clinicians Network calls for continued commitment to migrant patients

"We are concerned, given that the population we serve is largely from Mexico, that unwarranted fear of Mexican migrants in many communities will result in their being targeted or marginalized," said Zuroweste, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the Migrant Clinicians Network. "We wanted to reiterate that unless the migrant traveled to Mexico within the recent past, their risk of transmitting swine flu is minimal and they are at equal risk to the standing population for contracting the disease."

The announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the elevation of the pandemic alert level to Phase 4 is a step taken in order to mobilize resources rather than to indicate a direct corollary to individual risk. As noted in an April 26th press conference the United States declared a public health emergency, which "allows us to free up federal, state and local agencies and their resources for prevention and mitigation," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said. Flu cases in the United States so far have been mild.

The CDC is the main source of all information on the swine flu. Clinicians are reminded that reasonable risk assessment should be employed for individuals presenting with symptoms and sound infection control strategies must remain in place. To keep up to date visit the CDC website http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/index.htm The CDC site can also be reached through our website http://www.migrantclinician.org/.

The Migrant Clinicians Network wants to reiterate the importance of caring for all of our patients regardless of the country of origin and encourage all clinicians to maintain our commitment to this vulnerable population.

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Israel Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:34 AMfarmworkeradvocacy ; networkia ; migrant_health_news ; ; promotora_funding Subject: [ ] Swine Influenza Information and Conference Call/Informacion de la Influenza Porcina

Faith, distributing is a great idea. I made some edits to the Spanish version.

-----Original Message-----From: Faith [mailto:faithwrightskybest]Sent: Mon 4/27/2009 10:08 PM Lipscomb; Chelly s; DonovanCc: Lucy Hoffman, Newland; , Burnsville; Silvia , SpPine; Beth Sorrell; Kautz; Lourdes Carrillo,Wilkes; Antunes ; Ada Volkmer; Arias; Jeannette Butterworth; Molly Hemstreet; Bonnie Siegel, LPS; Bedard; Yolanda Bopp; Irene Godinez; Salome Bascunan; Dani ez-; Temoc ; Bernal; Fr. Joe Mulligan; Sr. InkrottSubject: Swine Influenza Information and Conference Call/Informacion de la Influenza PorcinaImportant information for all of us -- in ready-to-go Spanish/English handouts. Forgive duplicate posts. For those of us outside farmworker networks, should we be distributing through local Centros and church congregations?Faith----- Original Message -----From: Israel Israel Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 6:14 PMSubject: Swine Influenza Information and Conference Call/Informacion de la Influenza PorcinaDear Colleagues:In order to respond to some of your concerns about the Swine Influenza, I compiled a quick fact sheet in Spanish and English that may help to keep the MSFW population informed (attached).Best regards,IsraelIsrael , MSSWMHC/Mid-Atlantic StatesTel. 919297-0066, Toll Free 800-277-6092WWW.NCCHCA.ORGMark your Calendar!NCCHCA Annual Meeting and Primary Care ConferenceEast Coast Migrant Stream Forum

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