GSA Partners with Clinica de Salud to Expedite COVID-19 Testing for Farm Workers

To protect farm employees while allowing healthy employees to return to work more quickly, the Grower Shipper Association of the Central Coast (GSA) has teamed with Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas (CSVS) to provide COVID-19 testing with more timely results and more convenient locations for workers.

“We worked to create an option that prioritizes testing for agricultural employees, whether they have symptoms of COVID-19 or not, with shorter turnaround times,” explains Chris Valadez, GSA President. “After hearing that test results could take up to six days, for the benefit of farm workers and farm employers, we joined with CSVS to expedite results. This new program provides results within 48 hours,” Valadez says.

With test results previously taking so long, farm employers faced labor shortages while agricultural workers quarantined after a potential exposure. “Farm workers have two weeks of paid sick time; however, it is still frustrating and unsettling for them to quarantine for so many days while awaiting test results,” Valadez says. “For farm employers, the long wait times for results meant that harvesting could be potentially slowed or disrupted due to diminishing numbers within a crew.”

In addition to faster results, GSA and CSVS are also providing more convenient locations for testing. A farm employer simply fills out a form supplied by GSA with the number of farm workers requiring testing along with their preferred time and location. CSVS supplies the staff to conduct the testing. All test results are reported to the local health department. “The agricultural workforce is an ‘essential workforce’ and must be protected to make sure that our Nation’s food supply is abundant and secure,” says Dr. Maximiliano Cuevas.

In addition to the new expedited testing program, GSA has partnered with local hospitals to provide onsite COVID-19 prevention training for agricultural workers, establish quarantined housing where workers who have symptoms, test positive or are exposed to the virus can rest and recover with daily health checks as well as secured over one million masks for farm workers.

“As we move through the pandemic, we continue to learn more about how to protect farm workers and, at the same time, how to continue to harvest and ship healthy fruits and vegetables to consumers,” Valadez says. “This new testing program is another step toward evolving programs developed during COVID-19.”

In addition, GSA was part of a regional collaboration that developed the first COVID-19 prevention guidance for farm employers which was originally released on March 20.

“The agricultural community is working to continually improve its systems, standards and procedures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as well as preserve the livelihoods of farmers and farm workers,” Valadez explains. “We want to thank our regional health care partners who share our commitment to protect farm workers and have been so generous with their advice, help, and program implementation every step of the way.”