LANSING, Mich. – Michigan health officials have launched a new bilingual hotline for the state’s migrant workers and their families.
Michigan migrant workers and their families can get information about the COVID vaccine and other health-related issues by calling 1-833-SIAYUDA (1-833-742-9832).
According to a study by the University of Michigan, more than two-thirds of the approximately 90,000 migrant and seasonal farm workers and their family members in Michigan have limited English proficiency.
“We aim to make health care in Michigan customer-centric, which includes providing information in the person’s primary language when available to ensure timely health services,” said Dwayne Haywood, senior deputy director of the Stabilization Administration. Economic MDHHS. “The Farmworker Hotline is an interpretive tool to help keep farmworkers healthy and reduce health-related absenteeism that can result in the loss of income needed to support their families .”
The MDHHS Farmworker Hotline is funded by the CDC. It will be answered by MDHHS Migrant Affairs staff who are fluent in Spanish and English. Staff will answer vaccine questions and connect farm workers with vaccination clinics and resources. They can also provide information on the MDHHS program based on other questions.
Interpretation services are available for farm worker calls in languages other than English and Spanish.
Michigan officials said the goal of the MDHHS Farmworker Hotline is “to help provide Michigan’s bilingual residents with tools to prevent disease, improve health outcomes and increase well-being.”
More information is available at michigan.gov/immigrantaffairs OR michigan.gov/help4migrants.
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