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| September 17, 2012- In This Issue |
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Home
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Board Briefed on Transformation |
Does iPad Affect Sleep? |
Immunization Conference |
Sickle Cell Awareness |
DPH Interns |
Dental Students Volunteer
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PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
Board of Public Health Members Briefed on DPH Transformation
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Kate Pfirman, DPH
chief financial officer, discussed changes to the
department's budget at the Board of Public Health
meeting.
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With the goal of serving the people of the state of Georgia at
the forefront, the Department of Public Health is looking at
ways to reduce funding while remaining effective and efficient.
Continuing with "business as usual" is not an option.
In budget instructions received in July, the state's CFO, Debbie
Dlugolenski Alford, indicated the state's economic outlook was
cautiously optimistic. However, she noted the state must
continue to focus on meeting the basic needs of a growing state
and be fiscally conservative while also planning for
contingencies if revenues fail to grow as projected. For that
reason, each agency was instructed to submit a budget reduction
plan of 3 percent of its state general funds for AFY12 and FY13.
Additionally, agencies were encouraged to make the most
efficient use of limited resources by including reductions that
are targeted and strategic and to avoid broad, across the board
reductions.
Last week, members of the Board of Public Health heard from the
department's CFO, Kate Pfirman, on DPH's reduction plan of 3
percent ($5.6 million) from the budget over the next two fiscal
years. The process of trimming the budget will begin with
administration costs.
"What we're going to be doing is looking at our business
processes, looking at how we use information technology, ways to
be more efficient and ways to be more effective," Pfirman told
the board.
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Does iPad Use Affect Sleep? Researchers examine the possibility
Many iPad owners agree it's a great tool to stay abreast of
books, movies, music, games, apps and web content anytime, day
or night.
Because the iPad is a constant companion to many, can it cause
sleep apnea and sleep deprivation?
Researchers have studied users to determine if long periods of
usage can affect melatonin and sleep patterns at night.
Melatonin is the hormone that controls sleep and wake cycles,
called circadian rhythms.
According to new research and findings in the journal "Applied
Ergonomics", some iPad, iPad2 and Asus owners may be affected by
the light emitted from their tablet and are not getting proper
sleep.
Mariana Figueiro, an associate professor at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, and her team of researchers say "using
these tablets for two hours on their brightest setting
suppressed melatonin by about 22 percent."
The iPad and iPad2 were designed to emit bright light and
researchers are reporting that that bright light may affect the
melatonin level in the body.
"If they are bright and they are big and are close to your eyes,
they have more potential to disrupt your melatonin than the TV,
which is usually farther away," says researcher Mariana Figueiro.
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Stacy Henderson, registered nurse for the Catoosa County Health Department, accepts the Walt Orenstein Champion of Immunization Award from Walt Orenstein, M.D., on behalf of nurse manager Amy Carroll.
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On Sept. 13, 400 public and private providers, advocacy groups,
physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals gathered
at the Macon Marriott City Center for one purpose: to increase
immunization rates for Georgians.
Each year, the Georgia Immunization Office presents the Immunize
Georgia Conference, a day-long event that plays a key role in
educating immunization service providers on current best
practices and recommendations, and provides attendees an open
forum to discuss and share efforts while learning from national
experts. The conference addressed several topics including
vaccinology, HPV vaccination and an immunization schedule
update.
Health care providers understand the importance vaccination
plays in protecting patients, themselves and others from
vaccine-preventable diseases. The opportunity to learn
scientific and programmatic information is essential for safe
and competent immunization practices.
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September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month : Public health workers
encourage testing
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WYZE's Morehouse
School of Medicine Community Connections Sept.
11 radio show addressed National Sickle Cell
Awareness Month and the efforts involved in
Georgia regarding sickle cell disease awareness
and education. From left, Jackie George, Sickle
Cell Foundation of Georgia Inc, JoAnn Beasley,
Georgia Department of Public Health sickle cell
program consultant, and Lisa Goodin, Morehouse
School of Medicine.
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The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is reminding
families of the importance of newborn screening to detect
sickle cell disease and trait during Sickle Cell Awareness
Month.
Each year, the Georgia Department of Public Health, Maternal
and Child Health Section, Newborn Screening Program,
identifies 150 to 200 infants with sickle cell disease (SCD)
and more than 3,000 infants with the sickle cell trait. It
is estimated that Georgia has the third largest sickle cell
disease populations in the nation.
That is reason enough for Georgia to be one of seven states
selected to participate in the Registry and Surveillance
System for Hemoglobinopathies (RuSH) project. This project
is designed to collect information to learn about people
living with sickle cell disease. This information will lead
to a better understanding of the health status and practices
of Georgians with the disease and to identify areas to make
improvements in the delivery of health care for children and
adults with the disease.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that affects
the hemoglobin in the red blood cells. These crescent-shaped
red blood cells resemble a sickle (hand-held agricultural
tool) and give the disease its name. The cells become hard
and pointed instead of soft and round. These hard and
pointed cells block small blood vessels and cause problems
with blood flowing to that part of the body. Some medical
problems caused by this blockage include lung tissue damage,
pain episodes and stroke. There is also damage to major
organs including the spleen, kidneys and liver.
The human body usually has four normal hemoglobin genes.
Approximately two million persons carry one abnormal
hemoglobin gene, which is commonly known as having sickle
cell trait. Sickle cell disease occurs when abnormal
hemoglobin genes are inherited from both parents which means
it is passed from the parent on to the unborn child.
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DPH's Interns Go Beyond Classroom to Collaborate on Public Health
Projects
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In addition to her studies as a graduate student at
Rollins School of Public Health, Guan Ming Chen enjoys
outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and running. |
When Guan Ming Chen, Huyen Tran Pham and Abby Berns chose to
pursue public health careers, their enrollment at the Rollins
School of Public Health at Emory University would bring them
together in the classroom and at the Georgia Department of
Public Health (DPH) as future epidemiologists.
"I wanted to address the root causes of poor health on a
population level," said Tran Pham.
"I originally was on the pre-med track. After taking a few
anthropology courses and from personal experience, I realized
that there was more to health than just biology. There are
behavioral, social, and cultural aspects too, among many other
things. Public health is one of the few professions that can
adequately address the multi-faceted determinants of health."
Ming Chen's college professor at Syracuse University presented a
lecture on epidemiological modeling that helped her see the
mathematical and analytical components of public health. Before
this lecture, public health was described to Chen in an
anthropological sense. She became very interested in
epidemiology since it was a great combination of biology and
math.
Berns discovered her passion for science and public health early
on in middle school.
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Dental Students Volunteer
for Special Olympics
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GHSU student Brittany Waters provides dental care for a
Special Olympics athlete. |
Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) dental students
recently gave special smiles to some special athletes.
College of Dental Medicine students partnered with Georgia
Dental Association dentists and hygienists and hygiene students
from GHSU, Middle Georgia Technical College and Western Georgia
Technical College to provide dental screenings, fluoride varnish
applications and oral hygiene education to athletes at the
Special Olympics Master's Bowling event Aug. 25 as a part of the
Special Olympics program. They also distributed toothbrushes,
toothpaste and dental floss.
The event was at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. The
800-plus volunteers included 17 GHSU faculty, staff and
students, who helped screen 343 athletes.
Special Smiles was developed by Dr. Steven Perlman in 1993 to
address the dental needs of disabled athletes. Adopted by the
Special Olympics in 1997, it is recognized as an essential
component of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes initiative,
which provides health screenings to improve athletes' ability to
train and compete in the Special Olympics.
Athletes requiring additional treatment are referred to Georgia
Dental Association dentists who treat special-needs patients, as
well as the Dentistry for the Developmentally Disabled
Foundation in Atlanta, which treats only special-needs patients.
The athletes receive postcards following the event reminding
them to address concerns identified at the screening.
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Home
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Board Briefed on Transformation |
Does iPad Affect Sleep? |
Immunization Conference |
Sickle Cell Awareness |
DPH Interns |
Dental Students Volunteer
|
PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
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