Opening General Session and Channeling the Movement - Building the Agricultural Worker Health System for the Future

Welcome, Bureau of Primary Health Care Update and NACHC Policy Update. Keynote presentation description: The past year has shown the necessity to pivot when faced with emergencies, the urgency to speak up on behalf of agricultural workers, and the position health centers serve as national leaders of health care for marginalized populations. On any given day, a health center leader is faced with areas around community organizing, cultivating partnerships, workforce development, community and patient outreach, fiscal acuity, and leadership. This year they also faced a pandemic, rising racist attacks on their communities, fear of safety in their own buildings and demand for services only the frontline workforce like the agricultural workers we serve could provide. Our movement has seen leaders launch agricultural worker health programs and fight for civil rights for decades -- and as the next generation of leaders are facing similar challenges as their predecessors, they are also seeing the opportunities to strengthen these programs for the future. Through a moderated discussion with UnidosUS’ Vice President of Health, Rita Carreon, a cross-generational set of leaders will discuss their work, their perspectives, their cautions, and most importantly, their hope for the future of the Health Center Movement.