New State Registrar Appointed by Commissioner Fitzgerald
 

Deborah Aderhold, State Registrar and Director of Vital Records

There is a new State Registrar and Director of Vital Records for the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH).  As a state employee for two decades, Deborah Aderhold's job dedication can be traced to her former days as a case worker at the Muscogee County DFCS to chief investigator for the Office of Investigative Services (OIS) with the former Department of Human Resources.  Prior to Aderhold's recent appointment by Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, she served as a Deputy Director in Vital Records.

"I have had the opportunity to learn Vital Records from the ground up: the laws that govern Vital Records [O.C.G.A. 31-10], our policy and procedures, business processes, and what our customers need from us," said Aderhold. "We have made a lot of progress to streamline those processes, but we are constantly looking for ways to improve for our customers."

 

Commissioner Fitzgerald Convenes IS Meeting for Public Health  
 

Information services participants signed the commitment statement after Dr. Fitzgerald challenged them to develop a centralized public health data warehouse.

Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., summoned nearly 80 public health collaborators to discuss strategies to improve the state's information system at the Georgia DPH: Information Services Strategy and Alignment Design Forum.  The unprecedented meeting began the process of identifying an information system that will serve the needs of the state, districts and counties. The two-and-a-half day forum was purposed to help build the infrastructure to get public health's data from the county offices into a central repository or data warehouse.

"Fix our money, fix our message, and fix our IT system," resonated in Commissioner Fitzgerald's message on day one of the forum.  As the Department moves into almost 90 days as a stand-alone agency, they began discussing and envisioning one centralized system to prepare public health for the future.  The Commissioner did not come with a large agenda but asked staff to create a work plan that would be feasible to implement and work for years to come.


 

Keeping Preparedness Top of Mind

PH District 1-1 promotes readiness at Rome Braves game.  (l-r): Jennifer Kirkland, EP Liaison; LaDonna Collins, EP Training Coordinator; and Cathy Wiley, EP Director.

Northwest Georgia Public Health Emergency Preparedness (EP) staff recently participated in two end-of-summer events designed to encourage individuals, families, businesses and organizations to take personal and collective responsibility for preparing for both natural and manmade disasters. According to EP Director Cathy Wiley, "at both events, we highlighted public health's ongoing emergency preparedness efforts in collaboration with our community partners and encouraged everyone to Get A Kit, Make A Plan, Be Informed."  At both events, Northwest Georgia Public Health EP staff, including Tony Cooper, LaDonna Collins and Jennifer Kirkland, displayed and disseminated emergency preparedness materials.    
 
Preparedness Night with the Rome Braves was held August 27, at Rome's State Mutual Stadium.  Participating along with Public Health were representatives from local Emergency Management, Public Safety, EMS, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, CERT and area hospitals.  "We showcased our mobile communications center in conjunction with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)," Wiley said.


 

Parents Set Examples for How Kids Eat                       

We hear and see the messages that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can prevent certain cancers, heart disease and obesity.  But how many of us really think of that advice when choosing what we eat? Nutrition and physical activity epidemiologist Chad D. Neilsen advises that we are not meeting those guidelines on most days. He cites roughly 28 percent of adults in Georgia who eat the recommended five or more servings eat day, and only 17 percent of adolescents who meet that goal based on Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BFRSS) and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) data.  

During this Childhood Obesity Awareness Month we're all reminded that we set the table as well as the example for children on how to eat and what to eat. Perhaps a deeper commitment and very real examples will help us meet this goal one meal at a time.

 

Controversy Over Children's Obesity Book

It won't hit bookstores until next month, but already Maggie Goes on a Diet has proven at least polarizing for some, and downright angering for others.  And for Joanne Ikeda, a nutritionist emeritus at University of California-Berkeley, the fictional story about an overweight teenager just isn't empowering.

Highlighting imperfections in a boy's or girl's body "does not empower a child to adopt good eating habits," Ikeda told ABC news in a recent article, though she had not yet read the book.


 

Why You Should Follow Us on Social Media

Over the past several years, public health agencies have used Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media tools to disseminate health messages. The use of social media has grown significantly in more recent years and continues to trend upward. Social media allows the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to disseminate emergency information quickly, promote interaction between public health professionals nationwide, and expand its reach to target audiences.  Social media increases access to credible, informative health messages.

In the event of an emergency, GaDPH's social media accounts will be one of the first sources for up-to-date information. Social media has proven to be helpful within the districts during recent disaster relief efforts. However, posting up-to-date, pertinent information quickly is only one aspect of how GaDPH uses its social media tools.


 

SERVGA - Train. Prepare. Respond.

Immediately after the attacks on September 11, 2011 tens of thousands of people traveled to ground zero in New York City to volunteer and provide medical assistance. In most cases, authorities were unable to distinguish those who were qualified from those who were not.

As a nation, all states are charged with developing an Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP).  This system would allow healthcare professionals to be credentialed and trained for emergency situations/events. The State Emergency Registry of Volunteers (SERVGA) is Georgia's database for pre-credentialed volunteers.  SERVGA is the Georgia Department of Public Health's "one stop", on-line location to register emergency response volunteers, receive alerts and notifications, and register community-based organizations who would like to be part of your community's emergency response efforts.


 

Public Health Works 24/7 Responding to Contagion

Dr. Wade Sellers, health director for the 10-county Northwest Georgia Public Health district, says "investments in public health made over the past decade significantly improved our ability to deal with emerging infectious diseases and other health threats effectively as a local-state-federal public health system. Sellers says continued support of these programs is critical for us to maintain the expert workforce and capacity necessary to protect the nation's health as we did in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic." Northwest Georgia Public Health includes Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Paulding, Polk and Walker counties

 

Floyd County's recent community-preparedness event, Readyfest, encouraged folks to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities.  A new disaster film produced to give moviegoers an end-of-summer thrill underscores the importance of that message in dramatic fashion.  

Warner Brothers has recently released the movie Contagion, a fictional drama that portrays CDC and other U.S. and international public health partners responding to an emerging infectious disease outbreak.