California

California AgrAbility's Esmeralda Mandujano presented at the Ability Tools AT Advocates monthly meeting. Esmeralda gave an overview of the California AgrAbility program and highlighted the importance of collaborations with partners like Ability Tools to be able to better assist AgrAbility clients. Attendees participated in breakout groups and shared their thoughts on assistive tools that they thought might help the client described in their assigned scenarios. Throughout the presentation, attendees were provided with resources on assistive devices and tips for people working in agriculture with a disability, injury, or illness.

Esmeralda also presented at the California Department of Rehabilitation quarterly meeting for the Inland Empire Regional Office. She provided a brief overview of the AgrAbility program and the services offered to clients. Esmeralda highlighted the benefits of AgrAbility's partnerships with other agencies to support AgrAbility clients and assist them in obtaining assistive devices that help them to continue to work successfully in agriculture. She also provided a step-by-step guide of the process for an AgrAbility and DOR collaboration. The presentation closed with a short question and answer session in which Esmeralda responded to questions about eligibility criteria for clients. (Photo credit: Inland Empire DOJ https://oag.ca.gov/)

California AgrAbility staff attended the Generation Rx: Safe Medication Practices for Better Health webinar hosted by Ohio AgrAbility and presented by pharmacist Dr. Ruth Emptage of the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. With drug overdose being the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, Dr. Emptage gave an overview of medication misuse and discussed three key rules of safe medication practices. The webinar also highlighted the importance of keeping a medication record, proper medication disposal, and using a pharmacist as a resource.

Submitted by California AgrAbility Project