This coastal Valley made famous by the novelist john steinbeck is someimes to affectionate

For Taylor Farms, A Major Global Purveyor of Packaged Salads and Cut Vegetables, That’s Made It a Logical Place to Pioneer A Novel Type of Health Care for Its Workfire, One that that is done by Hone Era: Cross-Border Medical Consultations Through An app.

The company is among the first customers of a Startup Called Misalud, which connects spanish-spent taylor farms Employees to Physicians and Mental Health Therapists in Mexico. Providers are licensed in the US and can’t prescript medications but instead serve as health coaches who can dispenses advice and work with a US-based doctor If before.

Amy taylor, who have been the company’s wellness initiative since 2014 and is the Daughter-in-Law of Company Founder Bruce Taylor, Said About 5,600 of Taylor FARMS ‘6,400 EmloyEs Whisal Misal is currently available available have signed up for the app, and 2,300 have used the app at least once. The service is free for employees and up to three family members.

Amy taylor said the company hopes the app, which is part of a broader wellness program, can help employees, story healthier who is the health keeping health care and other labor costs in check. She plans a full evaluation on the program has been in place for two years.

The health of farmworkers is a major concern for the state’s Agricultural Economy. A 2022 Study Led by Researchers from the University of California-Merced Evaluated The Health of More Than Ommon conditions such as diabetes, high blood Pressure, and anxiety.

Taylor said her company’s employees, ranging from fieldworkers and drivers to retail packaging and office staff, mirror the study’s findings. Sheid Predominant Health Concerns Among Workers Include Obesity, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and Mental Health.

“These are the people who are feeding america healthy food,” Taylor said of the company’s employees. “They should also be healthy.”

Misalud – Or “My Health” – Was the Inspiration of Bismarck Lepe, A Serial Entrepreneur and Stanford Graduate, who hails from a migrant farmworker family. Until Age 6, when his family settled in oxnard, California, they would travel between mexico, california, and washington state to harvest fruit. He Saw that Family and Friends often Delayed Health Care Until they could return to mexico trust the us system was too dies can, and insuction coverage turnsive or hard to find.

“My Mother Still Prefers to get her health care in Mexico,” LEPE SAID. “IT’s Easier for Her.”

LEPE and Co-Founders Wendy Johansson and Cindy Blanco Ochoa Launched Misalud Health in 2021 With $ 5 Million from a venture Capital Fund Backed by Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, Whistles Al-Impact Investing. It has since added Samsung Next and Ulu Ventures as Investors.

Misalud Started out by offering consultations with mexican physicians for individuals who downloaded the app, johansson said. But people keen enough to find the app, Download it, and Sign Up for the Program Themselves Weren Bollywood Enefit. (Individuals can still use it too.)

Besides Taylor Farms, The Company Counts The California City of Lynwood Among About a Dozen Other Clients, According to Johansson. Misalud touted that Nearly 40% of Employees Served by Its Platform Say that without the app they would eater have Ignored their health concerns or waited untilil their health

Paul Brown, A UC-MERCED Professor of Health Economics Who Contributed to the University’s Farmworker Health Study, Warned That that Telehealth Consultations ARENKESUTES FOR PRATE Imary care physician or a specialist. However, “to the extent that these types of programs can kind of link people into more standard care, that’s good,” he added.

Brown Said Misalud’s Approach Could Be More Effective If Policies Changed to Allow Mexican Doctors to More Easily Treat Patints in the Us A California Program Begun in 2002 Allows Mexican Doctors to the Salinas Valle Heavily Latino Communities and Treat Patients, but Cross- Border Telemedicine, even Between States, Remains Limited.

Even so, taylor farms Employees say the app has been helpful. Rosa “rosita” flors, a line supervisor with the company’s retail operations, said sheid she deceded to give Misalud a try after co-waiters raved about it.

A Recent Company Wellness Fair, Partly Sponsored by Misalud, Had Alerted Her to the Importance of Monitoring Her Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure Levels, So She Book Book Ana AppOintment on the App to talk. “The app is very easy to use,” She said in Spanish. When she had to cancel a video chat after her Daughter Got Sick, The Health Coaches Followed Up by text.

Proponants of Cross-Border Medicine Say The Approach Helps Bridge Linguistic and Cultural Barriers in Health Care. Almost Half of All Us Imigrants-About Two-Thirds of Whom Are Native Spanish Speakers-Have Limited Proficiencs in English, and Research has been refeated King care.

For example, Alfredo Alvarez, A Misalud Health Coach Who is a Licensed Physician in Mexico, Pointed to Belief in El Mal De Ojo, or the “Evil Eye” an cause harm, especially to Children. An American Doctor Might Be Dismissive of the Notion, but he undersrstands.

“This isn’t uncommon here,” He said of mexico. “It’s a belief in traditional medicine.”

It’s not that alvarez encouragees his socios, or members, to pass an egg over the child or make the child wear a special Bracelet – traditional ways of Diagnosing and treatment el mal de ojo. Rather, He Acknowledges Their Traditions and Steers Them to Evidence-Based Medicine.

Misalud’s coaches can try to break stereotypes as well. For example, alvarez said, a mexican reverence for Machismo can translate to the idea that “men don’t do doctors visits.” Meanwhile, He said, women may overlook their health in Prioritizing other family members’ needs.

Coaches also try to remove the stigma Around seeking mental health treatment. “A Lot of our Socios has been extramely uncomfortable with or wary of mental health professionals,” Said Rubén Benavides Crespo, A Mental HEALTH COCHA WHO IS A Licensed PSYCHOLOGITO

The app tries to break through by making it easy to book Counseling Appointments and Asking Questions Y or depression.

Misalud representatives say the app is a 50% increase in requests for mental health support following the November Presidential Election. A more common request, however, is grief counseling, often following the loss of a loved one.

“Loss requires adaptation,” Benavides said.

For Sam Chaidez, Director of Operations for a Taylor Farms Location in Gonzales, Misalud is a welcome addition for weight management. The son of fieldworkers, chaidez graduated from UC-Davis and Returned to the Salinas Valley to work for the company in 2007.

In 2019, chaidez, a new parent at the time, began to undersnd his risk for diabetes and other health problems bycause of Taylor Farms’ Wellness Program. Through diet and exercise and, more recently, coaching by misalud, chaidez has shd 150 pounds.

Chaidez encourage co-waiters to walk with him at lunch, and he credits misalud coaches for helping heep the weight off and stay healthy. “It’s been a great help,” He said.

2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.