South Georgia Farmworker Health Project

This project has been my most recent undertaking! I couldn't "just" study and go to classes....gotta have a big project! :) During one of my study sessions at Java Monkey, my favorite neighborhood coffee shop, I started talking to a PA (physician-assistant) student from Emory. I started telling him about my interest in offering quality rehab services to low-income Spanish-speaking populations (of course, a normal first conversation topic....for Lori!). He told me about the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project, two weeks of free medical clinics organized by Emory's PA school. Why couldn't PT students be involved too?--he suggested. A perfect fit...I was immediately determined to participate in the project! That was in November--since then, I met with the organizer at the PA school, spoke with the PT school director and faculty, arranged a lunchtime info. session for my class, and.....got approval for a pilot program this summer!!! PT faculty is allowing 2-3 students to go to Valdosta, GA in mid-June for a few days to offer free rehab screenings, injury prevention clinics, and rehab services (under proper supervision, of course) to migrant (Spanish-speaking!) farmworkers. I am ecstatic, of course...this project was seriously made for me and my passions! The BIG goal: The South Georgia Farmworker Health Project can be integrated into PT curriculum, offered as a 1-week addition to students' long term clinical rotations. First the baby steps...finding a PT willing to supervise Emory students this summer and securing funding for hotel expenses. I am soooo thrilled about this interdisciplinary, cross-cultural health service opportunity for both myself and future Emory PT students. Here's the link to the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project.