More on the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project

This summer, physical therapy students participated for the first time in the South Georgia Farmworkers Health Project. This project was established in 1996 when Emory physician assistant and medical students first took a caravan of cars down to southern Georgia to provide medical care to the workers who labor in the corn and bell pepper fields. This was a traveling clinic, setting up each day at a new worker camp. Under the supervision of Sandy Jiricek PT, Megan Brock, Anna Fidler, Becca Halperin, and Lori Northcraft treated low back pain secondary to overuse, knee and shoulder injuries and ran a “back class” on proper body mechanics for lifting, throwing and catching the heavy boxes of farm produce. The students summarized their experience saying “We met wonderful people, and most importantly made an impact in the farmworkers’ lives; providing them care they were very unlikely to have access to otherwise. We hope the program will continue to growth in years to come. Working with an underserved population is an invaluable opportunity for any healthcare provider, and we are humbled that we were able to work with such a brilliant and dedicated group of PAs, MDs, and volunteers.”

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