HHS Names New Members to Migrant Health Council

	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration HRSA NEWS ROOM http://newsroom.hrsa.gov

March 8 , 2007

Contact: HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376

HHS Names New Members to Migrant Health Council

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has appointed four new members to the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health. The Council advises the Secretary on policies to increase the effectiveness of migrant health centers in delivering primary health care to migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

Joining the 15-member council for four-year terms are:

Frances R. Canales, quality assurance supervisor, Lakeside Foods, Inc., Brooten,
Minn.;
Michael J. DuRussel, grower, DuRussel Farms, Manchester, Mich;
Roberto Gonzalez, seasonal farmworker, Yuba City, Calif ;
Christina Ramos, retired farmworker and camp health aid program coordinator, Weslaco, Texas.

Karen Watt, grower and direct farm marketer for K & W Enterprises in Albion, N.Y., and John W. McFarland, D.D.S., director of dental services for Plan de Salud del Valle, Inc. of Fort Lupton, Colo., have been appointed chair and vice chair respectively.

In addition to advising the Secretary, the Council also makes specific recommendations on matters that affect the health of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families, such as occupational safety, housing conditions, medical and social services, and domestic and family violence services.

HRSA 's Bureau of Primary Health Care provides executive and staffing support for the council. For more information, visit: http://www.bphc.hrsa.gov/migrant/nacmh.htm .

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.