“People within agriculture andin those farming communities knowit’s hard, but they don’t know theimpact that it has on farmers’ mentalhealth,” said John McElveen, directorof the Georgia Agricultural WellnessAlliance. “We’re just trying to makethose conversations happen becausewe know that’s an important part ofmitigating those negative impactsof stress. And we’re trying to equippeople within the community, aroundthose farm families, to be trained, to82JAMESJANUA RY/F E BRUA RY 2 02 5know what to ask, know how to support and know how to refer people toresources.”PCOM South Georgia featuredbooths and personnel from Admissions, Diversity and CommunityRelations, Public Safety, Body DonorProgram and Simulation Center. TheSimbulance, designed to simulate theexperience of providing medical carein an ambulance, was also on displayto demonstrate its features to interested Expo visitors.“The initiative went above andbeyond anything we could have imagined this year,” noted Marla Golden,dean of the osteopathic medicine program at PCOM South Georgia. “PCOMSouth Georgia’s mission is all aboutproviding services to rural and underserved populations. People in the agricultural industry work so hard–often inremote areas– and it can be difficult toaccess healthcare information becauseof time, location or other factors. Wewanted to make it available to them.”Other educational institutionsparticipating in the initiative includedMercer University School of Medicine,Southern Regional Technical College, Abraham Baldwin AgriculturalCollege and Thomas University. TheSouthwest Georgia Council on Agingalso had a booth sharing informationabout its services for seniors andadults with disabilities.Cindy Montgomery is the Public Relations andSocial Media Manager for PCOM South Georgia.
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