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| April 24, 2012- In This Issue |
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Home
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Maze Teaches Teens |
Gov. Signs Proclamation |
The Pertussis Vaccine |
Protection by Prevention |
Highest Immunization Rate |
PHBRIEFS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
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PHNEWS
Maze Teaches Teens about Actions and Consequences
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Kayla Knight, Armstrong Atlantic State
University public health graduate student
and Coastal Health District volunteer, talks
to teens about the potential consequences of
having unprotected sex.
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As Savannah-Chatham County Public School System students
walked into the National Guard Armory in Savannah, the
first thing they saw was a bloody body on a gurney while
doctors and nurses worked to keep the patient alive.
The victim had been texting while driving and wrecked
his car. Though medical staff worked furiously, the
patient didn't survive.
"Time of death: 10 a.m." announced the trauma surgeon
from Memorial University Medical Center.
Though this was a simulation, the surgeon explained to
the group of eighth graders that he sees this kind of
situation often in the emergency room, and many times,
the results are tragic.
"Don't let this happen to you," he said. "Every decision
you make has a consequence."
Actions and the resulting consequences were at the heart
of the second annual Chatham County Teen Maze. The
Coastal Health District Adolescent Health and Youth
Development Program, in conjunction with other community
partners, set up scenarios that addressed a range of
subjects from substance abuse to sexually transmitted
diseases, to show the negative impact of bad decisions.
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Gov. Signs Proclamation to Support Young Children
 On
April 10, 2012, Gov. Nathan Deal helped the Georgia
Association on Young Children, the Department of Public
Health - Office of Child Health and other state leaders
kickoff a month-long celebration by signing a proclamation
declaring April as Month of the Young Child.
During this month and throughout the year, the department
encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role
in making Georgia a better place for children and families.
Ensuring parents have the knowledge, skills and resources
they need to care for their children can help promote
children's social and emotional well-being.
"All young children need and deserve high-quality early
learning experiences that will prepare them for life, and
Georgia has a great opportunity to do our part to help young
children," said Kelli Rayford, interim unit manager,
Comprehensive Child Health Services, DPH. "Month of the
Young Child is a time for Georgia to recognize that 'Early
Years are Learning Years' for all young children."
Deal's proclamation indicates the importance of showing
support for early learning in our community by promoting
early literacy programs, thanking teachers and caregivers
who care for children and working to ensure that public
policies support early learning for all young children.
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The Pertussis Vaccine: Protect Yourself, Protect Your Family
 Pertussis,
also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial
illness spread via airborne droplets from the respiratory tract
of an infected person. The disease usually starts like the
common cold with a runny nose or congestion, sneezing, or mild
cough for one to two weeks. These symptoms are followed by
weeks to months of severe coughing spasms.
Infants and children with the disease cough violently and
rapidly, over and over, until the air is gone from their lungs,
and they are forced to inhale with a loud gasping or whooping
sound. Vomiting and exhaustion commonly follow the coughing
episode. Infants may feed poorly, turn blue around the mouth or
stop breathing.
Infants and children do not appear ill between attacks.
Adolescents and adults may have milder disease than infants and
young children, ranging from a mild cough illness to classic
pertussis with a persistent cough. A whooping sound after
coughing is not common. Adolescents and adults often do not
realize they have the disease and unknowingly transmit it to
infants who are too young to be vaccinated.
The pertussis vaccination series can begin when an infant is six
weeks of age. Infants, however, are not adequately protected by
vaccination until the initial series of three shots is complete
at six months of age. Therefore, infants less than six months of
age are most at risk for severe illness, hospitalization and
death.
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Protection by Prevention
DPH Recognizes National Infant Immunization Week April 21-28
Health districts across the state are gearing up for their
annual observance of National Infant Immunization Week,
the outreach initiative designed to protect infants from 14
vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis.
Efforts range from office displays and PSAs, to local newspaper
features, health fairs or a combination of several endeavors.
In addition to various advertisements, Columbus Health District,
will offer immunizations April 24 through 27 and April 30 from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Columbus Department of Public Health, 2100
Comer Ave. in Columbus. Free hearing, vision and dental exams
also will be offered for children ages 4 to 6.
The district includes Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris,
Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart,
Sumter, Talbot, Taylor and Webster counties.
"The other counties do something too, but not to this magnitude
because they're much smaller," said Dianne Robinson, Columbus
Health District immunization coordinator.
Robinson said the outreach is also an effort to ensure children
are properly vaccinated before starting pre-K or kindergarten.
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Home
|
Maze Teaches Teens |
Gov. Signs Proclamation |
The Pertussis Vaccine |
Protection by Prevention |
Highest Immunization Rate |
PHBRIEFS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
|
PHNEWS
|
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