, have you heard the latest news?

AgriSafe in Action:

May 2020

2019 Annual Report: A Year of Growth

Click here to see the 2019 AgriSafe Annual Report!

Respiratory Health Takes Center Stage

Checkout this article by Successful Farming featuring AgriSafe Clinical Director, Charlotte Halverson, discussing the issue of limited PPE resource availability for farmers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. “ The product that we want our ag folks to wear is also absolutely necessary for our frontline healthcare people,” says Charlotte Halverson. Click here to view the full article.

AgriSafe Welcomes New Intern Alyssa Damke

Alyssa Damke is in her final year as an MPH graduate student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from University of Nebraska—Lincoln. During her time as a research assistant, she has worked closely with the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) participating in various extension and outreach events. Alyssa will be an intern this summer with AgriSafe working on Veteran farmer health and safety projects.

FREE At-Home Drug Disposal Pouch- order by May 10

Deterra and SAFE Project are on a mission to take half a million pills out of homes and away from potential abusers. Help be part of the solution by simply cleaning out your medicine cabinet and properly disposing of unused drugs with a free Deterra Drug Deactivation and Disposal Pouch. The easy, three-step Deterra Pouch is safe to use in the comfort of your home, can be thrown out in your household trash and ensures medications are gone for good. Click here to order a FREE drug disposal pouch, the deadline is May 10, 2020.

Distance Learning Opportunity for Nurses

Was your training event cancelled due to COVID-19? We have an easy way for you to earn CNE credits from the comfort of your own home! The Nurse Scholar course provides eighteen hours of training presented in distance learning format utilizing lecture and power point. Continuing nursing education hours (CNE) are provided by Northeast Iowa Community College (Provider #7). Click Here to learn more!

Contact nursescholar@agrisafe.org with any questions.

Your Feedback Matters - Determining Training Needs and Skills Gaps in Public Health

The process of prioritizing agriculture public health training is an important AgriSafe objective. I am thankful to join the AgriSafe team as the Senior Workforce Training and Development Specialist. I will apply my education and field experience to evaluate the AgriSafe course offerings and identifying critical industry skills gaps that require attention industry-wide. One of my primary roles will be to build a network of key Ag individuals that can participate in focus groups, provide insight as subject matter experts, and customized training solutions for the agricultural business.

I welcome the opportunity to connect and welcome your ideas. Please let me know if you are willing to be a part of this focus group effort and together we can work to provide a health training plan to success. I can be reached by email ( gparker@agrisafe.org ) or phone (985)-327-1768.

Access COVID-19 Resources, Trainings and More

AgriSafe’s COVID-19 Resource Sharing Spreadsheet collects and organizes the vast amounts of information and resources constantly being brought to the attention of the rural health community into a single document. It is set up to be used as a hub of shareable tools for users. General topics are defined such as Personal Safety, Workplace Safety, Mental Health and Stress, Economics, and Family Resources; each of these topics are then subdivided into categories that define the types of information available (PDF handouts, videos, etc.). In each subcategory there are then direct links to specific resources. This has been done in an effort to save the time and energy of hundreds of users needing to perform multiple web searches and navigating an untold number of individual websites. So many organizations have contributed to the work: all the CDC-NIOSH agriculture centers, multiple extension services, private businesses, and national associations. And the list of contributors and the information being shared continues to grow. Because the effects of COVID-19 are presenting huge challenges to the needs of rural America’s immediate and future needs, this document is kept up to date on nearly a daily basis in order to provide users with the most relevant information possible. Click here to access these resources on the AgriSafe Learning Lab.

Shorter Attention Spans: Generational Differences

Research has found that in recent years the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. This shift has been largely attributed to t echnology changing the way we process information.

Checkout this article published by the Nebraska Board of Nursing discussing differences in motivation, work-life balance, and work ethic relating between difference in generations and why there is a need for different methods of content delivery . This article is on page 12 of the Nebraska Board of Nursing News Winter 2019 edition, click here to view this publication.

May Health Spotlight: Lyme Disease Prevention

With warmer months ahead and many of us increasing our time outdoors and in wooded areas, let’s not forget that “other epidemic” that concerns rural healthcare providers and folks that work and play outdoors – Lyme Disease. The most common vector-borne illness in the U.S., the Center for Disease Control and Prevention receives about 30,000 confirmed reports of Lyme Disease from states each year. Although many of us are familiar with the traditional symptom of a “bull’s -eye” rash that develops a few days following a bite, other symptoms include, headache, fever, and fatigue.