Chapter 640, Laws of 1951, authorized the Public Health Nursing Section of the State Board of Health to begin devoting resources to migrant workers and their families. Public health nurses began work in 1952, with one nurse assigned to Door County and another to the bordering areas of Portage, Waupaca, Green Lake and Adams counties and all of Marquette county. Services included prenatal care, immunizations, a tuberculosis x-ray program, and general health care instruction. Health care for migrant laborers and their dependents, however, remained largely inadequate.
Passage of the Migrant Health Act (P.L. 87-692), and as amended in 1968 (Section 319 of Title IV of P.L. 94-63), authorized the U.S. Public Health Service to make grants to assist communities in extending local health services to migrants. The Bureau of Community Health and Prevention and its various components, including the Public Health Nursing Section, Subsequently became much more involved in rectifying the health problems of seasonal laborers, assisting several local governments and non-profit organizations with migrant health projects.
