Discover Ocala – Episode 13 | A Closer Look at Harnessing Health

May 23, 2024

A stethoscope on a table and the nose of a horse in the background.
There’s a common trait among horse people that any fellow equine professional recognizes right off the bat: The almost instinctive penchant for prioritizing the horses’ needs before their own.

“I know for myself that many of us tend to treat the horses first and think about us second,” says Valerie Dailey in the latest episode of Discover Ocala podcast. “We don’t take the time to learn what’s best for us as humans so we can help our horse ‘people’.”

She adds ruefully, “I’ve seen a lot of that happen, where people end up in the hospital, and if they had had the preventative maintenance or had gone sooner, or had been attended to earlier…they would still be here.”

Episode 13’s guest is Amy Mangan, the Executive Director of AdventHealth Ocala Foundation, who is launching a brand new program specifically designed to address the needs of equine professionals. It’s called “Harnessing Health: Equine Worker’s Health Initiative”, and it’s specifically designed for people in the industry who have challenges finding easy access and comprehensive treatment.

Amy described in the interview how she had been talking with a friend and a professional horseman, who brought to her attention the difficulties for equine workers to not only find the doctors they needed for help, but also the time and logistical hurdles. As Valerie points out, they tend to put the horses first before anything else, and their days are pretty busy anyway; it’s hard to find time to slot in a physical exam, let alone schedule more involved procedures – like blood tests, wellness education, diabetes checks, immunizations, and chronic health issues and treatments. Preventative care is a huge priority.

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“I know for myself that many of us tend to treat the horses first and think about us second. We don’t take the time to learn what’s best for us as humans so we can help our horse ‘people’.”

Valerie Dailey, Owner/Broker – Showcase Properties of Central Florida

Doctor measuring blood pressure of man at table indoors, closeup
The program will include a bilingual Healthcare Navigator who will assess patient needs, build services, and bridge some of the gaps in care and logistics for equine workers. They’ll also travel to different locations across the region to spread the word so that workers are aware through aggressive outreach of the program and what it offers. The Navigator will also help with enrollment and shepherding patients through the often-complex and sometimes confusing healthcare system in coordination with other agencies.

But the jewel in the crown is the proposed mobile health clinic – funded by the hospital and operated by the Navigator. Instead of workers having to figure out a time and schedule an appointment – an activity which, start to finish, could feasibly take two or more hours, depending on how far they have to drive – the mobile unit would go to them. It will provide access onsite to workers so that they don’t have to disrupt their entire day, and make the whole process that much more efficient and easy to use.

“We really see this as serving a coordination role to help the workers connect to the right resources,” Amy told us.  “I feel comfortable that our community will respond – especially in the horse community. A healthy workforce is a healthy industry.”  

After hearing Amy’s pitch, the foundation board almost immediately approved it and made moves to put their money where their mouths were. They agreed to fund the Navigator position and simultaneously launched a new graduate residency program for family practitioners. 

“All of those physicians will be part of Harnessing Health; they’ll be at the mobile clinic,” Amy says. “So the only thing missing is to raise dollars to secure the mobile clinic.” 

A fundraising campaign has been launched to raise the $350,000 needed to purchase the mobile unit and necessary equipment for operations; AdventHealth Ocala Foundation has already donated $10,000 to the Care 360 program, which provides transportation, meal deliveries and other services to patients – including equine workers. A fundraising website has been created at HarnessingHealthOcala.com, where anyone can contribute and also learn more about the program. As of the time of the podcast interview, the current total raised is $38,000.

“We really see this as serving a coordination role to help the workers connect to the right resources. I feel comfortable that our community will respond – especially in the horse community. A healthy workforce is a healthy industry.”

Amy Mangan, the Executive Director of AdventHealth Ocala Foundation

“That would help us be sustainable, because it takes time, it takes investment. But I’m really confident we can get there.” Amy says.

The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA) hopped on board almost as fast as AdventHealth’s board to help with fundraising and outreach efforts. FTBOA president and AdventHealth Ocala Foundation board member George Isaacs was excited about the new initiative and confident in its potential positive impact on the community.

“AdventHealth Ocala has stepped up to assist our farm workers,” he said, “In a way that I believe will impact their physical and emotional well-being for years to come.”

There are almost 30,000 equine workers in Ocala and Marion County alone, so there won’t be a lack of need for programs like this one. The equine industry is a driving economic force in the region, with professionals in diverse areas and locations. Eventually, Amy and her team at Advent Health Ocala hope to expand the program over the next five years to add more services, health fairs, educational opportunities, and more mobile units. “To me, that looks like a fleet of clinics,” she chuckles. “But we’ll start small.”
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To learn more about the Equine Worker Health Initiative, go to Harnessing Health Ocala. To hear the full interview with Valerie Dailey and Amy Mangan, visit our podcast at Discover Ocala.

Industry stakeholders and community leaders interested in contributing to the program can contact Mangan by phone at 352-857-5388 or email amy.mangan@adventhealth.com. Interested donors can also go to the website at yourgenerosityhealsocala.com and add the level of giving you would like to donate.

Check out some of our previous podcast features!