AgrAbility designed to get producers back to work
Some producers think it’s charity, but AgrAbility exists only to put people back to work, said Colorado AgrAbility Project Occupational Therapist Trainer, Carla Wilhite.
Probably the greatest surprise for someone coming home to the farm or ranch after a serious illness or injury is that they can’t do everything they could do before in the same way, Wilhite said. For example, they think they’re going to get right back on the tractor and go to work, but they find they can’t get up there. Equipment modifications can usually get them back to work, though.
Occupational therapists working with producers should keep that in mind, too. Before advising a client to go into another line of work, they should recognize that accident or illness doesn’t necessarily mean that person can’t get back to farming. Once they recognize this, they can help design solutions to make it possible.
AgrAbility helps farmers and ranchers find new ways of doing old tasks, equipment modifications that will make the old task possible and, when all else fails, ways to delegate tasks.
“When we’re discharged from a hospital, we often have medications that can make us drowsy or unable to think clearly,” Wilhite said. “Reaction times are sometimes slower.”
Producers should take that impairment into account and be especially careful, Wilhite said.
Chances of a secondary injury are increased by the limitation caused by the original accident or illness, Wilhite said.
For more information about Nebraska AgrAbility and how it can help, go to: http://agrability.unl.edu or call (800) 471-6425.
Farming and ranching are among the most dangerous occupations in the country, Wilhite said. Producers should recognize the additional challenges caused by disability as they go about their daily chores.
