* This webinar will be provided in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish *
While entire communities and regions are impacted by wildfires and wildfire smoke, those on the front lines of our food supply are disproportionately impacted. Join Farmworker Justice and Migrant Clinicians Network for a webinar for clinicians and health center staff to learn more about wildfires and wildfire preparedness for migratory and seasonal agricultural workers communities. We will discuss the health effects of wildfires and strategies to support workers and their families during a wildfire emergency. Speakers include Dr. Maeve MacMurdo, director of the Cleveland Clinic Occupational Lung Disease Clinic, who is a specialist on occupational and environmental lung disease, and Deysi Merino Gonzalez, Program Manager at Vista Community Clinic in California. Health center staff will receive resources and strategies from clinical experts, MCN, and FJ. The webinar will be in English with Spanish interpretation.
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At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to…
- Learn about the extent of wildfires in the US and how they affect farmworker communities.
- Identify the effects of wildfire smoke on the health and well-being of farmworkers.
- Explore resources to help farmworker communities better prepare for wildfires in their communities.
Presenters
Dr. Maeve MacMurdo is a specialist in occupational and environmental lung disease, and director of the Cleveland Clinic Occupational Lung Disease Clinic. She grew up in New Zealand, where she completed her medical education, before completing her residency in Internal Medicine at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland Oregon, and her subsequent fellowship and subspecialty training at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. MacMurdo is passionate about understanding how the environment impacts worker health, with a focus on the health of farmworkers. She has received funding from the NIH and EPA to evaluate the impacts of air pollution on lung health, and in collaboration with the American Thoracic Society, is working to develop guidelines for the evaluation and prevention of occupational exposure to air pollution, focusing on farmworker health.
Deysi Merino-González, born in Oaxaca, Mexico, remembers tending to vegetables alongside her parents and doing her best to receive an education in an area with few resources. When her father, who was also a farmworker in Carlsbad, California, offered the chance to move the entire family to the United States in the hope of providing her education, Merino-Gonzalez leapt at the opportunity. Though it was often difficult, she persevered and graduated from California State University, San Marcos in 2015. She started at Vista Community Clinic in 2020, as a Community Health Specialist, and rose quickly to her current position as the Program Manager for Migrant Health and Outreach.