Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., DPH commissioner.

During July's Board of Public Health meeting, Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), praised the department and the board for the incredible work done in the department's first year as a standalone agency.

After sharing the department's many accomplishments with the board, she outlined the work still necessary to continue making the state safer and healthier, focusing on what she calls the department's four core areas: obesity, tobacco cessation, HIV/AIDS and immunizations.

She then outlined five additional areas on which she wants DPH to focus.
 
The first area she highlighted was telemedicine and teledentistry. She shared that by December of this year, every district (outside of the metro Atlanta area) would have telemedicine capabilities, which is a great accomplishment. Fitzgerald expressed the need to ensure those capabilities continue to expand so that more and more Georgians, especially those in rural areas, have access to healthcare.

Fitzgerald also expressed the department's need to focus on cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS), a combination of medical disorders including obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, oxidative stress and others, that, when occurring together, increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. CMS is responsible for the majority of adult deaths in Georgia.  

Additionally, Fitzgerald stated the department's need to look at district and local public health departments seeking accreditation in order to learn from best practices; to ensure that there is a private/public/military connection when it comes to emergency preparedness so all entities are coordinated and working together in a time of crisis; and that the department strengthens and maintains its connection to higher education to enhance the scientific and research foundations for activities of DPH and to increase the department's publications in peer-reviewed scientific and professional journals.

-Story by Kimberly Stringer, DPH Communications