Funding Announcements
Migrant Clinicians Network builds partnerships with foundations, federal entities, individuals, and grantmakers, to fund our important work building practical solutions at the intersection of vulnerability, migration, and health. Here are recent announcements from MCN on new and continuing projects. Donate to MCN on our donation page. Connect with Ashley-Michelle Papon, Project Coordinator of Development & Outreach, for more on individual or corporate giving: apapon@migrantclinician.org.
Migrant Clinicians Network Renewed as HRSA National Training and Technical Assistance Partner
May 2023
Since our inception, Migrant Clinicians Network has provided up-to-date clinical support for clinicians at health centers across the country on critical issues of migrant and agricultural worker health through a technical assistance grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). With this funding, MCN has reached thousands with in-person trainings, health center technical assistance, new relevant resources, webinars, and much more. This month, MCH received a three-year renewal approval. With this support, MCN will continue to act as a National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP) to improve the health of thousands of agricultural workers around the country by supporting the clinicians who serve them. This funding provides support for critical offerings including many of our popular bilingual webinars, our diabetes Project ECHO learning series, new resources on emerging issues, collaborations like the Farmworker Health Network, SDOH Academy, Special & Vulnerable Populations Diabetes Task Force, publications like Streamline, and more.
“We are proud of our longstanding relationship with HRSA and the impact our work has made on the health and well-being of agricultural workers and other populations encountering vulnerability,” said Theressa Lyons-Clampitt, Senior Program Manager of Training and Technical Assistance. “MCN is grateful to HRSA for its continued support and recognition of our important role in providing relevant resources, training, and technical assistance to the clinical team members who care out critical health support in health centers across the nation.”
Learn more about our technical assistance offerings. See our upcoming educational opportunities or request a training.
MCN’s New Efforts to Empower Caribbean Farmworkers in the Path of Climate Disasters, with USDA Climate Hub
April 2023
Droughts, floods, heat waves, wildfires, excessive snow, intense hurricanes – climate change has, at this point, touched every one of us. But some are more exposed to climate disasters than others, and some geographic locations are more at risk. This is the case of the US Caribbean territories like Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, which, in recent years, have been in the direct path of climate-strengthened hurricanes followed by devastating drought.
On those islands, certain communities fare worse than others. Agricultural workers, by the nature of their occupation, are constantly subject to the climate and its changes. Additional factors that can negatively influence their health every day – from low wages; to the related poor diets, substandard housing, and lack of financial cushion; to poor worker protection; to limited access to health care – can grow dangerous or deadly in the wake of a climate disaster.
Migrant Clinicians Network’s new three-year project, in partnership with Caribbean Climate Hub and Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción, and funded by the US Department of Agriculture, will increase agricultural communities' ability to adapt to climate change and improve health outcomes by getting them culturally relevant tools and resources they need, in a language they understand. MCN will partner with community health centers in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to disseminate critical information on climate-related hazards – from mud slides to mold to unsafe drinking water.
“This exciting project will expand MCN’s work in the Caribbean,” said Marysel Pagán Santana, DrPH, MCN’s Director of Environmental and Occupational Health and Senior Program Manager for the Caribbean. “Year after year, our region suffers from intensifying climate-related events. We need to support our communities as we adapt and understand mitigation and often lifesaving strategies to respond to our climate crisis.”
“The climate crisis is worsening, and we know there is much work to be done,” added Amy K. Liebman, MPH, Chief Program Officer of Workers, Environment, and Climate for MCN. “MCN is thrilled to further our in-depth climate-related initiatives and broaden our partnerships with farmers, workers, community groups, health centers, and government agencies.”
“MCN is committed to protecting the health and well-being of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Kim Nolte, MPH, MCHES, Chief Executive Officer for MCN. “We have a proven track record of developing hyper-local solutions and are well positioned to support communities to be better prepared for climate-fueled disasters.”
Learn more about this project in the press release from the USDA.