Our region has a long history of farming, dating back to when the first settlers came, clear cut their land and sold the lumber to larger cities farther down the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers.
Throughout that time, the job of farming has been dangerous. Farming has always been hard work and there have been risks associated with it, such as machinery, effects from pesticides, breathing problems and more. Generally, these problems have been considered routine, but accepted as part of the job.
This acceptance of danger began to actively change beginning in 1988, with the formation of the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, a program of Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown. It was established that year by the state Legislature, as it recognized the high rates of occupational injury and illness in farming.
The Legislature charged NYCAMH to provide research into the causes and prevention of agricultural injury and illness, education and prevention activities within the farm community, education of professionals serving the farm community, and clinical help for farm-related health problems.
The idea for NYCAMH began in 1983. Dr. John May and Dr. David Pratt had a practice and noticed health problems, particularly of a respiratory nature, of farmers as they visited M.I. Bassett Hospital. Farmers were inhaling a lot of dust, some having a fungus in it, when they opened up silos in the autumn months.
May said they looked into medical literature about such a problem, and very little existed. The dust was causing fevers and difficulty in breathing, so the doctors began looking into ways to change and prevent this problem.
The two doctors established a relationship with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and arranged for some investigators to work with them and some area farmers on their worksites. NIOSH was aware of breathing problems at other jobs, such as mining, but were previously unaware of the problem on farms.
With this partnership, the Bassett Farm Safety and Health Project was started by May and Pratt. It began on what May described as a shoestring budget. The interest in farming injuries grew beyond breathing problems, as May and Pratt met with farmers in our region and beyond. The project held educational conferences at many sites around New York when farmers had time to meet in off-season times.
Interest grew, and by 1988, more funding became available to expand the Bassett project. Not only was NYCAMH the center for New York, it grew beyond the borders, now covering 12 states, from West Virginia to Maine. Programs outside of New York are funded by NIOSH. NYCAMH is also known as the Northeast Center for Agricultural Health.
NYCAMH began with one staff person in 1988, and after leaving the M.I. Bassett Hospital site, located in the basement of The Cooper Inn of Cooperstown. Then sometime around 1990, the Chamberlain family donated a site in Fly Creek to Bassett Healthcare, its present location. The building was formerly a restaurant, the Sportsmen's Tavern.
NYCAMH now has a staff of 28, including researchers, occupational health nurses, social workers and a librarian. May is the NYCAMH director and principal investigator.
In addition to conducting research on a range of health and safety problems, NYCAMH has a library and information center, offers outreach and education, provides on-farm stress management, counseling and referral, and conducts farmers' clinics.
This weekend: The Cannon family provided a community hospital for Delhi.
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City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.
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