The Ready Georgia mobile application created by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency was recently awarded Silver in the 2012 Winter/Spring Web Health Awards Mobile Application: Location-Based Resource category.

The goal of the Web Health Awards is to recognize high-quality digital health resources for consumers and health professionals. The awards program is organized by the Health Information Resource Center, a clearinghouse for professionals who work in consumer health fields.  

Gold, Silver, Bronze and Merit certificates are awarded. Using a rating scale of one to 100 points, a panel of health technology professionals judge entries based on content, format, success in reaching the targeted health audience and overall quality.
 
 

Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, gives commencement address at UGA College of Public Health.

About 160 University of Georgia College of Public Health students participated in the College's 8th annual graduation ceremony held in the Tate Student Center on UGA's campus May 11, 2012.

In her commencement address, Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, charged the new graduates to, "truly work, live and make a difference at the highest level of your ability to comprehend."

 

Isabelle Knott's whole world changed drastically three years ago when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.Here she is shown with her school nurse, Michele Barland, checking her blood glucose level.  Isabelle produced a video about being a kid living with type 1 diabetes.

Michele Barland is a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator (CDE) at Creekland Middle School.  She knows that on any given day she will monitor nine students who have type 1 diabetes. First things first, she helps these students to select breakfast, check blood sugar and draw their insulin.

"Just today, one of my kids is 463 milligrams per deciliter," said Barland. "He is way too high.  I don't know what he ate at home or how much insulin he took there."  

She gave this student plenty of water to dilute his blood sugar and the correcting formula of insulin as prescribed by his doctor.
   
Barland knows personally what type 1 diabetes can do to a child's young life.  She was diagnosed with the same disease at age 5 years old.  

"Since there is no cure, I still have type 1 diabetes," said Barland.

 

 
Save money, water, energy while protecting health and encouraging environmental learning

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a list of 15 tips for the summer season, which kicks off June 20th. Whether relaxing at home or off exploring the great outdoors there are many ways people can save money, cut energy costs and continue to protect the health of their families while still enjoying the summer.

Tips for a safe and enjoyable summer:

1. Energy Star savings for your home: The average home spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling. These cooling bills can be lowered by simply changing out incandescent light bulbs with EPA's Energy Star qualified lighting, which use less energy and produce approximately 75 percent less heat. Raising your thermostat by only two degrees and using your ceiling fan can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent too.
 http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home

2. Increase your gas mileage: Obey the speed limit; go easy on the breaks and avoid hard accelerations; reduce your time idling; and unload unnecessary items in your trunk to reduce weight. If you're not using your removable roof rack take it off to improve your fuel economy. http://www.fueleconomy.gov