CalAgrAbility's work with the Hearing Loss Association of America Yolo Chapter has yielded a collaborative publication to prevent hearing loss among farmers and workers. The program produced a Spanish-English 4-fold pocket-size card to teach farming folks how easily hearing can be damaged by loud noises. The card targets tomato workers especially who stand on extremely loud tomato harvesters all day long throughout the summer.
CalAgrAbility has been working diligently with the Arthritis Foundation (AF) in extending rural exercise/arthritis classes to various communities throughout the state. New community collaborations include Knights Landing, Lodi, Woodland, Carmichael, Sacramento, Vacaville, and Dixon. The 2-hour sessions are in Spanish. Staff have just completed a 10-session manual for English-speakers that will be piloted in August or September. AF and CalAg also had a successful annual Arthritis Walk in Sacramento.
Health and safety fairs provide successful means of reaching farmers and employers. In May and June CalAg staffed rural health fairs in the towns of Madison, Woodland, Lodi, and Davis. Some events are sponsored by community clinics, Head Start, Migrant Housing and Education, and Farm Bureaus. CalAg participated in Yolo County Small Business Resource Summit, U.S. Small Business Administration's Tribal Business Workshop, and the Healthy Aging-Health Care Partnership Fitness Day.
Submitted by Martha Stiles