Nebraska

AgrAbility had a record attendance at the recent OT/PT training that took place in western Nebraska. According to Angie Howell, Easterseals Nebraska and member of the Nebraska AgrAbility team, the course content and presenters shined, including Emily Jacobson, Nebraska AgrAbility program manager, Christine Hutchison, PT, DPT, and Shauna Dahlgren, certified work incentive specialist for Easterseals Nebraska. Aaron Yoder, University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska AgrAbility team member, also provided important safety information during the training. The facilities at the West Central Research and Education Center located in North Platte were relevant to the safety discussion. The annual attendance at this training continues to grow - farm culture, treating the rural population, and learning about AgrAbility is becoming popular among the medical community in Nebraska and surrounding states! Here are a few comments from the OT/PT professionals who took part in the training:
* "I thought I knew more when the day started, but by the end of the day, I learned there was a whole lot I didn't know about helping farmers and ranchers"
* "This was an amazing opportunity. I'm so glad I came to today's training!"
* "I didn't know about AgrAbility. Now that I know, there are a lot of people I've met who need this program and I will share these brochures with them."

Soni Cochran, Nebraska Extension disaster education coordinator and member of the Nebraska AgrAbility team, attended the inaugural summit which took place in the Regional Engagement Center on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. There was an incredible lineup of speakers and opportunities to engage, share ideas, and connect with healthcare providers and professionals, community leaders, academic groups, and rural health advocates. The main focus of the summit was threefold: 1) Exploring how careers in rural health can strengthen the workforce while making a lasting difference in community well-being. 2) Harnessing trust-based collaboration to drive meaningful change in communities. 3) Exploring how communities can engage, adapt, and build strategies to strengthen rural wellness and resilience. Soni shared that the people she visited with were very interested in learning more about AgrAbility.

Recordings of the lightning talks and the keynote speakers are available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYHAaTRqpnUTBU9ZcvUOBY6CbSOA9lmOK. Additional resources from the summit will be available on UNMC's Great Plains IDeA | Clinical and Translational Research website at https://gpctr.unmc.edu/community. The summit was co-sponsored by UNMC Great Plains IDeA | Clinical and Translational Research and Nebraska Extension.

For over 40 years, Husker Harvest Days has been known as the world's largest totally irrigated working farm show and a premier agricultural event featuring the latest developments in agriculture. Emily Jacobson, program manager for Nebraska AgrAbility, shared that nearly 5,000 people came through the Health and Wellness Tent, which was also the site for the Nebraska AgrAbility booth. In addition to Emily, Jada Zimmer, food, nutrition and health educator for Nebraska Extension and member of the Nebraska AgrAbility team, and Burton Pflueger, rural rehabilitation specialist, were on hand to assist in the tent. Emily reports that there were great conversations with attendees, and the team was excited to see so many clients stop by.

Submitted by Soni Cochran