Facts
InterCare is one of the largest migrant health organizations in the Midwest.
InterCare Service Area
InterCare's service area consists of six counties in the west and southwest lower corner of Michigan in which low income residents and migrant and seasonal farmworkers are the target populations.
Located in the heart of west and southwest Michigan's fruit and vegetable belt, each county has received a medically underserved or health manpower shortage designation by the federal government.
Three of the counties served by InterCare are along the Lake Michigan shoreline from the Indiana border northward about 120 miles. The other three counties served by InterCare are the contiguous counties immediately to the east of the lakeshore communities.
The largest urban areas adjacent to InterCare's service area are Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, travel time to which ranges from 40-70 minutes from InterCare's various locations.
It is estimated that each year southwest Michigan is the upstream destination of an estimated 20,000-30,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Since the migrant farmworker population is a transient group, an accurate census is rarely obtained. There are approximately 350 licensed migrant camps in InterCare's service area with a combined licensed occupancy of over 11,000.
