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Brenda Fitzerald,
M.D., Public Health Commissioner
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The 83rd Annual Georgia Public Health Association two-day
conference was held at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia April 12 and 13. This year's conference theme was "Healthy Georgians Living in
Healthy Communities."
Hundreds of members gathered to discuss and learn more about how
public health professionals in Georgia can work together to
ensure that our people live and work in healthy communities all
across the state.
As the director of the Department of Public Health and State
Health Officer, Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., received a very warm
welcome as the opening keynote speaker. Dr. Fitzgerald energized
the crowd as she compared Public Health to a bear waking up from
hibernation.
"We've been asleep for a while. We are a little lean. But we are
awake and ready to work hard to protect the health of the people
of Georgia!"
Dr. Fitzgerald went on to describe the public health crisis of
our time - obesity - by sharing startling statistics.
"Nationwide, childhood obesity has risen 300 percent in the last
30 years," Fitzgerald said. "The number of obesity and
overweight related hospitalizations in children has increased
from close to 400 in 1999 to over 1,500 in 2010. This is a
crisis."
Dr. Fitzgerald challenged members to change the behavior of not
only the overweight and obese, but to change the behavior of
Georgia's 10 million residents so we all stay healthy.
"With the combined efforts of everyone in this room, we will
achieve this goal," said Dr. Fitzgerald.
The Georgia Public Health Association is an association of
individuals and organizations working to improve the public's
health. The association's vision is to see all Georgians as
healthy and living in healthy communities. The association's is
to advocate for conditions in which all people and communities
can be healthy; to promote the scientific foundation of public
health practice and policy; and to assure a continuous voice
broadly representing public health in Georgia.
-Story by Kimberly Stringer, DPH Communications
