New farm health volunteer named for Logan County    

[NOV. 4, 2004]  Kristi Lessen, director of Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital's Healthy Communities Partnership, is AgrAbility Unlimited's new community ambassador for Logan County. As a community ambassador, Lessen will be the local contact for information about the statewide AgrAbility Unlimited project. The community ambassador is the project's first point of contact for farmers, their family or farm workers dealing with the effects of a disabling condition or illness. If you need information about AgrAbility Unlimited, Lessen can help.

AgrAbility has been assisting Illinois' agricultural community since 1991, when funding first became available from the USDA. Since that time, AgrAbility Unlimited, a joint effort of U of I Extension and Easter Seals Central Illinois, has helped over 600 individuals in Illinois return to more active, productive lives.

AgrAbility helps assess an individual's goals and work environment and determine what, if any, modifications are needed for the person to return to work or continue working more safely and efficiently in the farm operation. AgrAbility's involvement is customized for each client, based on the individual's goals and the level of assistance the person wants and needs.

AgrAbility also helps locate funding sources to help finance the necessary modifications. Many of these funds come from the Division of Rehabilitation Services, a division of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

AgrAbility Unlimited helps the newly disabled as well as people who have dealt with these disabling conditions for many years.

Jim Williams, AgrAbility's field coordinator, recruited Lessen and will support her efforts in this new undertaking. As the local point of contact for the project, she will be visiting agricultural and health-related organizations to spread the word about AgrAbility Unlimited and the services it offers, as well as attending local events that reach the area's agricultural community.

Lessen can be reached at [phone], ext. 409, or [e-mail]. AgrAbility Unlimited's main office can be reached at [phone], ext.126. Information is also available online at http://www.agrabilityunlimited.org/.

[News release from AgrAbility Unlimited]

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