NAAC Meeting at UA to Focus on Health Issues Related to Natural Disasters

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –The University of Alabama is hosting the 19th annual meeting of the North American Agromedicine Consortium Oct. 15-17 at the Four Points Sheraton on the UA campus.

Titled “Encouraging Community Preparedness for Agromedicine Concerns,” the conference will bring farmers and farm related agency representatives, physicians and other health care professionals, educators and students from across the country to discuss and increase understanding of health issues related to natural disasters, particularly in rural communities.

“This conference is a time for us to share our experiences, what we’ve learned from them, and what we need to learn,” said Susan Guin, a nurse practitioner at UA who serves on the NAAC executive committee. “Not only can this help the state of Alabama, but it can also connect communities across the country with knowledge about agromedicine.”

Agromedicine is a partnership of health and agricultural professionals which promotes the health and safety of agricultural producers and workers, their families and consumers of agricultural products. Agromedicine addresses the health and safety concerns of agriculture by a combination of the sciences of agriculture and medicine.

The North American Agromedicine Consortium, or NAAC, was founded in 1988 and is an affiliation of faculty representing schools of agriculture, life sciences, family and consumer sciences, medicine, nursing, allied health, public health, pharmacy and veterinary medicine and representatives of related government, agribusiness and voluntary agencies.

These faculty and other interested parties have organized to share, through a multidisciplinary approach, their expertise and resources in public service, education and research for the enhancement of agricultural safety, rural health and the practice of rural medicine within their state, province, country and the North American region. The consortium is affiliated with the International Association of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health.