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| October 09, 2012- In This Issue |
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Home
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Employee Sheds Over 100 Pounds |
DPH Brings Six NPHIC Awards Home |
Latino AIDS Awareness Day |
Friday Health Fairs in Macon |
NIH Awards New Autism Center |
Free BMI App |
PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
In My Own Words: Public Health Employee Sheds Over 100 Pounds
Walking, change in diet key to weight loss
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Anita with her grandson Dawson in 2006
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In 2006, I weighed over 250 pounds. I had diabetes, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides. My diabetes was
out of control. I was tired all the time. I was depressed. I
didn't exercise and my diet was full of too much fat,
carbohydrates and calories.
I was 43 years old and I was killing myself.
I used all the excuses in the world not to exercise. I was too
tired. I didn't have time. I couldn't exercise in the morning. I
couldn't exercise in the evening. I didn't want to exercise by
myself and the best one, I was too overweight. Actually, I was
afraid to exercise for fear of passing out or having a heart
attack because I was so overweight.
Diabetes runs in my family. My paternal grandmother had diabetes
and so did my father. I saw my father die too soon because of
this disease, so I knew I had to start taking control and change
what I was doing to myself.
When school started in the fall of 2006, my daughter entered the
ninth grade. The ninth-grade academy was right next to the
health department. She wanted to be at school at 7:30 a.m. Since
I didn't have to be at work until 8 a.m., I would drop her off
at school and then walk around the parking lot. I started off
slow, walking about 15 or 20 minutes at first. Over time, I
gradually increased the length of time and distance of my
walking.
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DPH Brings Six NPHIC Awards Home
Highlighting the ongoing work of the Georgia Department of
Public Health's Division of Communications, six prestigious
awards were presented last week before a national group of
professionals.
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Pieces of the media kit created for the Georgia
SHAPE launch.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Public
Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) held its annual symposium
in Washington, D.C., an event that helped further the
organization's mission of providing tools and guidance for
interactive communication between public health and communities
throughout the country.
"These awards of excellence represent a team effort," said DPH
Communications Director Ryan Deal. "They represent one more form
of validation that what we are doing is effective in ultimately
protecting the lives and health of Georgians."
These accomplishments also indicate DPH is heading in the right
direction since becoming its own department in July 2011, Deal
said.
NPHIC received more than 300 entries from public health agencies
nationwide that showcased a variety of campaigns. Competition
has perhaps never been greater since there are more channels and
methods than ever before to deliver an effective message. DPH
brought home several accolades.
Gold medal winning efforts included the "Ready Georgia App,"
which earned judges' choice, topping others in the New Media
category for social media and Internet use in an production. The
app was created through a partnership with the Georgia Emergency
Management Agency and now allows everyone in the state a means
of preparing for multiple hazards.
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Oct. 15 is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
Through the Latino Commission on AIDS, headquartered in New
York, National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
began in 2003 with more than 100 sites across the U.S. and its
territories. Since then, another 100 sites have been added. This
year's theme is "Hispanics United to End AIDS. Get Tested for
HIV."
Hispanics/Latinos face a variety of social and economic
challenges that make them particularly vulnerable for HIV
infection, such as poverty, low levels of health insurance
coverage, discrimination and stigma.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), in 2007 HIV was the fourth leading cause of death among
Latinos aged 35-44 and the sixth leading cause of death among
Latinos aged 25-34 in the country. In Georgia, by 2010
Hispanics/Latinos comprised 9 percent of the state's total
population. In that same year, of 1,294 individuals diagnosed
with HIV, this group accounted for 4 percent of cases and 6
percent of new AIDS diagnoses.
This is a call to action for all communities to work together to
increase the number of people who are aware of their HIV status
and to ensure early diagnosis of HIV infection and prompt
linkage to care and treatment, while strengthening outreach and
educational efforts within this population.
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 In recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the
North Central Health District and Macon-Bibb County Health
Department is hosting a free health fair each Friday in October
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The health fairs will be held at the
health department, 171 Emery Highway in Macon.
Free services such as: clinical breast exams, BMI screenings,
blood pressure checks, cholesterol screenings, blood
sugar/glucose checks, and HIV testing will be offered. Vaccines
will also be available for a fee or will be billed to Medicaid,
Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia PPO, or a State
Health Benefit Plan through UnitedHealthcare or Cigna.
"The purpose of our health fair and breast cancer awareness
event is to get the word out that there are services available
to women that will provide free breast exams and mammograms. I
want women to know that Georgia's Breast & Cervical Cancer
Program can provide these services to women who qualify," said
North Central Health District's Women's Health Coordinator, Edye
Tillman-Johnson. "Women need to know their bodies and realize
that early detection is the key. I hope that from our health
fair, every time these women think of the color pink, they will
remember our program and what it provides."
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NIH Awards New Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) Grant Linking
Atlanta Research Partners
A new Autism Center of Excellence (ACE), funded by a grant
of more than $8.3 million to Emory University from the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), will create a
comprehensive and collaborative research effort among Marcus
Autism Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the
Department of Pediatrics in Emory University School of
Medicine, and Yerkes National Primate Research Center at
Emory. The ACE is one of only three such centers nationwide
and will bring together more than 25 researchers and
physicians in eight laboratories in the three highly
connected Atlanta institutions, along with collaborators at
Florida State University.
"This new Center of Excellence designation and grant from
the NIH are a direct result of the incredible community of
scientists and collaborative opportunities available in
Atlanta through Marcus, Emory, Children's and Yerkes, and
our many pediatric partners," says Ami Klin, Ph.D.,
principal investigator and director of the ACE. "We also owe
our success directly to the strong support of community
members such as Bernie Marcus, the Whitehead Foundation and
our partnership with the Georgia Research Alliance."
"The Marcus Autism Center of Excellence will help to bring
the best autism researchers and physicians to Atlanta," said
Gov. Nathan Deal. "I commend Dr. Klin not only for leading
this team of experts, but also for his continued commitment
to serving Georgia families and to making our state a
national leader in autism research and treatment."
A nationally recognized leader in autism research, Klin is
director of Marcus Autism Center, a Georgia Research
Alliance Eminent Scholar and professor of pediatrics in
Emory School of Medicine.
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Free BMI App Shows Total Body Fat
 One of the most popular tools on the National Institutes of
Health's (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
website is the BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator. BMI is a
reliable indicator of total body fat, which is related to the
risk of disease and death. The NHLBI BMI calculator receives 1.6
million visitors a month and ranks number one on Google. This
mobile application provides results right on your phone along
with links to healthy weight resources on the NHLBI website.
Click
here to download.
-Story by DPH Communications
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Home
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Employee Sheds Over 100 Pounds |
DPH Brings Six NPHIC Awards Home |
Latino AIDS Awareness Day |
Friday Health Fairs in Macon |
NIH Awards New Autism Center |
Free BMI App |
PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
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