Live Well Community Health Centers Provide Dental Care to Migrant Farm Workers
The  Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund  and the  Health Care Collaborative (HCC) of Rural Missouri, which operates the Live Well Clinics, teamed up in the winter to provide three evening dental clinics for farmworker adults who live in the county year-round. Dentists and dental hygienists from the Live Well Clinics provided exams and treatment at the Waverly clinic to 18 farmworker adults across 33 appointments. Staff from the Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund, which provides health care navigation and other social services, education and legal assistance to migrant and seasonal farmworkers, coordinated the appointments and provided transportation, translation services and other support.

The Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund and HCC Lafayette are among the REACH Foundation’s 28 core partners that receive annual general operating support grants. The dental clinics were supported with a $25,000 grant to the HCC Collaborative.
Conference Registration for the 2019 Get Link’d Missouri Rural Health Conference is now live.

Register early to secure your spot!
You are invited to join The Missouri Rural Health Association, Missouri Hospital Association, Missouri Primary Care Association and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (Office of Rural Health and Primary Care), as Collaborating Partners for the 2019 Get Link’d Missouri Rural Health Conference from August 20-22, 2019 at The Lodge at Old Kinderhook in Camdenton, Missouri.

For more information, visit this link .
LCHD Launches Program to Address High Maternal Smoking Rates
In 2016, maternal smoking rates in both Missouri and Lafayette County were significantly higher than the national average. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported 7.2 percent of women who gave birth in the United States smoked during pregnancy. However, the rate was 15.5 percent in Missouri and 21.3 percent in Lafayette County, according to Missouri Information for Community Assessment Maternal, Infant and Child Health (MICA).
By 2017 not much had changed. The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) reported the rate of mothers who smoked during pregnancy was about 14 per 100 live births in Missouri, and about 20 per 100 live births in Lafayette County.
LCHD’s Maternal Child Health (MCH) Program is designed to combat tobacco use in Lafayette County. The overall goal of the program, funded by Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, is to improve the health and well-being of mothers and children in the County. “The high maternal smoking rate is a priority health issue of ours,” said Breann Jensen, a health educator at LCHD. To address this issue, the program provides smoking cessation resources and tobacco education classes.
Good-to-Know Info
Recognizing Unhealthy Relationships
Being in an unhealthy relationship can have lasting, harmful effects on the health and well-being of those involved. Health care professionals can play a vital role in helping their patients understand the warning signs and behaviors associated with unhealthy relationships, including abuse and trauma.  

Visit this link to find out more.
Take Steps to Control Stroke Risk Factors
Women who have had preeclampsia are more likely to develop high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke, but the good news is that you can take steps to manage it. 

Maternal Depression: First Steps Families and Advocates Can Take to Help Mothers and Babies Thrive
This issue brief aims to help mothers, families and family advocates understand the signs of maternal depression. It provides guidance on how mothers can connect with their pediatricians to get the help they need to heal.

For more information, visit this link .