Gov. Nathan Deal gets advice on car safety Friday from CarFit Coordinator Gary Towns at Lakewood Baptist Church as the group offered older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles "fit" them. SCOTT ROGERS/The Times

September is Healthy Aging Month, an annual observance designed to focus national attention on the positive aspects of growing older.  The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) works year round to ensure that Georgia's seniors are healthy and safe. One way of doing so is through the Older Driver Safety Program, funded through the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS).

The Older Driver Safety Program's goal is to maintain the mobility of older adults while keeping them safe. The program primarily focuses on reducing the number of injuries and fatalities experienced by older drivers, and where possible, enhancing mobility options for older adults.  

Maintaining a sense of independence is very important to many of Georgia's seniors. The Older Driver Safety Program's CarFit program works to ensure that older adults in Georgia stay safe in automobiles while still maintaining that sense of independence.  The program works to educate drivers, especially seniors on how to fit correctly and safely in their car while driving.  

CarFit is a national program developed through collaboration among AAA, the American Society on Aging, AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association. The purpose of the program is not to determine an individual's ability to drive safely. Instead, it is a free educational program offered that trains individuals to be certified CarFit Technicians and/or Event Coordinators.  Once certified, CarFit events are voluntarily hosted at churches, senior centers, and grocery store parking lots.  
 

 

Melinda Bailey, Troup County environmental health manager, does her daily inspection of the Red Cross shelter.

While the most recent hurricane, Isaac, did not have the strength of Hurricane Katrina, the expansive category one storm demonstrated how easily problems can simultaneously spread to multiple states.

Georgia's troubles were minimal compared to the devastation felt in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, but it served as a reminder that hurricane season is entering its peak.

Bruce Jeffries, acting deputy director of health protection for the Georgia Department of Public Health, says Georgia is well prepared to respond, as seen during multiple incidents in the last 10 years. The coalitions and increased efficiency of communications are no small part of that equation.

"What we have seen is, now the information flow within emergency preparedness staff at the state as well as the district is a lot quicker because of our relationships with our other seven state partners," Jeffries says.

Hurricanes are perhaps of the greatest threat to Georgia's coastal health district.
 
 

A collaborative campaign to stop sexual bullying among adolescents and teens is coming to Rome. The campaign - Step Up. Step In. - is headed by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) in partnership with the Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault (GNESA) and the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia.

"The campaign is designed to prevent sexual bullying in Rome," says Dr. Kimberly Redding, director of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Georgia Department of Community Health. "We are teaching adolescents and teens in the community about the offensive behaviors that can be sexual bullying so they do not perpetrate them against each other. Further, we are teaching youth and adults how to respond if they witness, hear about or suspect any form of sexual bullying."

Sexual bullying defines a broad category of adolescent and teen behavior that includes unwanted touching and groping, sharing obscene images, spreading sexually charged rumors about classmates and more. It can be violent or non-violent and affects children across the country.

Nationally, nearly half of seventh- through 12th-grade students experienced some form of sexual harassment electronically or in-person during the 2010 - 2011 school year, according to the American Association of University Women. Victims said sexual harassment affected their study habits, fueled their reluctance to attend school and even drove feelings of physical illness.