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| September 19, 2011- In This Issue |
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Home |
DPH Launches iPhone/Android "App" This Week...Join the Launch Webcast |
DPH Hosts Immunize Georgia Conference...Stop the Spread of Flu and Pertussis
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Still No Cure for Sickle Cell Disease |
Babies Can't Wait Program Welcomes Public Comments|
PHRECIPE
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The new iPhone/Android app can save Georgians in any
emergency. |
Already hailed as the "must-have-app for all Georgians" by public
safety and emergency workers who've tested it, the Georgia
Department of Public Health (DPH) is excited to announce the launch
of the groundbreaking Ready Georgia mobile app, available this week
for iPhone and Android.
From up-to-the-minute weather and hazard alerts based on a user's
location, to customizable emergency preparedness checklists and
geo-location to deliver alerts, create emergency plans and show open
shelter locations, the Ready Georgia app is in a class of its own.
To launch the app, DPH Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., will
join GEMA Director Charley English to host a live webcast for
emergency preparedness officials on Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 10:00
to 11:00 a.m. Visit
http://bit.ly/pllJ2I to register.
"Diseases spread fast and the need to reach people in real time with
life saving information is more important than ever," Fitzgerald
said. "The Ready Georgia mobile app gives us the ability to
instantly deliver potentially life-saving information to almost
anyone with a Smartphone."
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DPH Hosts Immunize Georgia Conference
Stop the Spread of Flu and Pertussis
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(L-R) William Atkins, MD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist,
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases,
The Centers for Disease Control; Gary S. Marshall, MD,
Professor of Pediatrics, Chief, Division of Pediatric
Infection Diseases, at the University of Louisville School
of Medicine; and Sandra Fryhofer, MD, MACP, Internist and
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Emory University |
The 18th Annual Immunize Georgia conference drew a crowd of almost
400 healthcare professionals to north central Georgia in Macon.
With a packed agenda, state health officials, public health staff,
school nurses, and pharmaceutical companies convened to address
methods to get Georgia's children immunized against pertussis, flu,
and other childhood preventable diseases.
"The overall message was clear," said Anil Mangla, Ph.D., Director
of Infectious Disease and Immunization. "If you plan to come in
contact with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors or strangers of
any age this flu season, roll up your sleeve and get vaccinated."
That message was made unexpectedly clear by Mr. William "Buddy"
Clements, one of this year's Immunize Georgia Conference
presenters. Clements' granddaughter, Lilliana, was only five weeks
old when she had a terrible and persistent cough. She was diagnosed
with pertussis and almost did not live to see her first birthday.
The pertussis vaccine (Tdap) is NOT recommended for babies her age.
Mr. Clements joined Dr. Mangla and others in demonstrating why the
whole family has to be vaccinated to stop the spread of flu and/or
pertussis to persons at risk.
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Sickle cell anemia is a disease passed down through families
in which red blood cells form an abnormal crescent shape. |
It occurs in about 1,000 babies each year in America and in one out
of every 500 African-American births. Over 70,000 people in the
United States are estimated to have it. It is an inherited disorder
that affects red blood cells that become hard and pointed instead of
soft and round. These hard and pointed cells block small blood
vessels which mean that less blood can reach that part of the body.
Tissue that does not receive a normal blood flow eventually becomes
damaged. What disease is this?
The disease is called and described as Sickle Cell which is
characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid,
sickle shape.
September is Sickle Awareness Month and the Georgia Department of
Public Health is reminding families of the importance of newborn
screenings. Newborns in Georgia are screened for 28 metabolic and
hemoglobin disorders. Last year 148,989 newborn screening specimens
(blood spots) tested in the Georgia Public Health Laboratory brought
diagnoses of 142 infants with metabolic diseases and 125 infants
hemoglobin disorders including Sickle Cell anemia.
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The Babies Can't Wait (BCW) Program is Georgia's statewide early
intervention system for infants and toddlers with special needs,
aged birth to three, and their families. As required under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), before a change
in policy is submitted for approval to the Office of Special
Education Programs (OSEP), the public must have an opportunity to
comment on the proposed change(s). The time period for public
comment is 60 days from the release of the information to the
public, and public comment hearings are usually held 30 days from
the release of the information. Georgia's BCW Program will hold its
public comment period from August 29, 2011 to October 29, 2011.
The opportunity for public comment provides a forum for major
stakeholders in the program to have input into the processes that
affect the families and communities they serve. This year, Georgia's
BCW Program is reviewing its fiscal policies, which define how
services are funded, the hierarchy for Part C early intervention
services, access and utilization of Early Intervention Services
Funds (EISF), and assure payor of last resort. In the past, public
comments have helped revise service coordination and evaluation and
assessment policies. As a result, changes have been implemented to
better meet the needs of families BCW serves.
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Home |
DPH Launches iPhone/Android "App" This Week...Join the Launch Webcast |
DPH Hosts Immunize Georgia Conference...Stop the Spread of Flu and Pertussis
|
Still No Cure for Sickle Cell Disease |
Babies Can't Wait Program Welcomes Public Comments|
PHRECIPE
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