One farmworker’s experience with COVID-19.
Camila (not her real name), an agricultural worker, woke up with a fever, body aches, chills, exhaustion, and had no appetite. Over the weekend her husband and young child also became sick. Two days later she called the Public Health Department to explain her symptoms. They contacted Port Byron Community Health (PBCH) where Camila and her family were patients. On Monday, Public Health and Alexandria Hudgins (RN) from PBCH went to the farm where her family and other farmworkers were tested and diagnosed with COVID-19.
They were asked to quarantine in their home, the baby was only allowed to take Tylenol for her fever because she was so young; and Mucinex was prescribed for the adults. On the following Thursday, they still weren’t feeling well and were concerned about the baby’s breathing, so they came to Port Byron Community Health for follow-up care.
“We were worried about our daughter since she was so young. They checked her oxygen level along with ours. We were all fine, but we still had the virus,” said Camila.
“Port Byron Community Health opened its doors to us when other providers wouldn’t. In fact, they do a great job caring for the entire Latino community. They called us after that appointment to check on us, to see if we needed food or formula for the baby. We appreciated their kindness,” she said.
At Port Byron Community Health, it’s not only kind for our community health workers to visit families in their homes but it’s also part of our community outreach program. In this case, Fernanda Uribe Hernandez is the Community Health Worker (CHW) at Port Byron Community Health who helped Camila and her family. She reaches out to farmworkers and others that need support beyond healthcare. That might include transportation, food, and other support services. Community Health Workers encourage patients to follow medical advice to stay well and get the services they need.
A special thank you to everyone on the team who helped Camila’s family (and many others) at Port Byron Community Health including Fernanda Uribe Hernandez (CHW), Alexandria Hudgins (RN), and Jessy Ramos, Patient Navigator.