The Nurse-Family Partnership Program nurses from left: Darra McClendon, central intake, nurse home visitors Krystal Essiet, Kelly Aikens and Cynthia Stevens, and supervisor Patricia Prime.

The city of Perry System of Care along with the Houston County Health Department is proud to announce the launch of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program, an evidence-based community health initiative that helps transform the lives of mothers pregnant with their first child.

 

The program is made possible by a grant offered through the Governor's Office for Children and Families' Great Start Georgia program and Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visitation funding. It will offer education and support to low-income, first-time moms who are less than 28 weeks pregnant up to the child's second birthday at no charge to them. The program's goals are to improve maternal health, child health and development and economic self-sufficiency.  The program plays an important role in helping to improve the lives of society's most vulnerable members, build stronger communities, and leave a positive impact on this and future generations.

 

The Nurse-Family Partnership in Houston County will have four nurses with a case load of 25 clients each year of the program. Registered nurse and program supervisor Patricia Prime said she is excited about what this program offers the community.

     

 

Josefina Arvizu-Villela, WIC nutritionist for the Cherokee County Health Department, teaches participants how to read food labels for nutritional values during the Shopping Matters tour.

Several local residents and their children were taken on a free Shopping Matters grocery tour at a Canton Kroger, where they learned how to make healthy food choices on a limited budget.

The Shopping Matters tour was sponsored by North Georgia WIC and led by Josefina Arvizu-Villela, a WIC nutritionist based at the Cherokee County Health Department.

"Often, people don't know how to buy nutritious, yet affordable food for their family because they don't understand which foods are best, nor do they know how to make sense of the labels," Arvizu-Villela explained. "Shopping Matters empowers them to shop more effectively because it breaks it all down in a practical, sensible way."

This tour focused particularly on foods available in the Women's, Infants and Children (WIC) food package.

"Many moms I know don't pay attention to food labels or have any idea about nutrition," tour participant Katherine Garcia, of Woodstock, said. "They just buy food they think saves them money, but instead, it's often pre-processed. Today, I learned I can freeze fruits and vegetables and how to better read food labels for nutritional values."
  
 

Effect of Savannah Smoke-free Air Law on Indoor Air Pollution

Between 2004 and 2007, the Coastal Health District, where Savannah is located, has consistently showed smoking prevalence of 25 percent.

This smoking prevalence was higher than the overall state smoking rate of 20 percent in Georgia. Secondhand smoke exposure is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases (e.g. heart attacks and strokes) and can make other diseases such as asthma and diabetes worse. In Georgia, approximately 1,430 citizens die annually due to exposure to secondhand smoke.

To address the disease burden of tobacco use in the Coastal Health District, the Healthy Savannah Coalition was organized in 2009. The coalition and its subcommittee, Smoke Free Savannah, worked with city and council government officials to strengthen the Georgia Smokefree Air Act of 2005. In August 2010, the mayor and city council members of Savannah voted to restrict smoking in all indoor places by all people at all times. And in February 2012, the Chatham County Commission voted overwhelmingly to pass a smoke-free ordinance to eliminate all smoking in public places and workplaces.

Staff from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Coastal Health District conducted two evaluation activities to measure the impact of the Savannah smoke-free ordinance. First, 140 in-person interviews were conducted across 17 bars and 20 restaurants to understand the experience of local Savannah residents and businesses. Then, indoor air samples were collected from bars and restaurants and analyzed both before and after the ordinance was implemented to assess the change in indoor air quality.
  

From left, Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health; Loy Howard, Tanner Health System president and CEO; and Denise Taylor, Tanner Health System chief development officer.

Tanner Health System has received a $1.22 million Community Transformation Grant for use in prevention, chronic disease and wellness efforts in Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties.

 

The Tanner grant is part of $70 million awarded to 40 community nonprofit programs by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Small Communities Program to expand clinical and preventive services, affecting about 9.2 million Americans. Tanner was the only Georgia program and only one of eight hospital systems in the country to receive the grant.

Loy Howard, Tanner Health System president and CEO, said the funds will be used to support efforts to reduce obesity, improve nutritional awareness, increase physical activity, reduce tobacco usage and improve the emotional well-being in the three counties.

"This is the largest grant in our history," Howard said. "The significance of this grant is that it's the beginning steps of Tanner starting to transform its mission. Since its beginning, Tanner has been centered on taking care of people who are sick or having babies. Like most healthcare systems, we have not done in a lot in the area of wellness, specifically addressing chronic diseases, because of the reimbursement system. We realize we're going to have to help our citizens earlier in their healthcare situations." 
   

Georgia Health News is marking the start of its third year of production this month.

 

Over the past two years, we have published hundreds of articles about health care in the state. We have written about public health issues, hospital consolidation, health insurance changes, and industry news on doctors, nurses and other medical providers.

 

Georgia Health News also posts articles about consumer health issues and features about health care in the state, along with links to stories from media across the state.

  
 

Change is not just about thinking, it's about doing.   

Healthy Habits is an app that helps you put your good intentions into action. Most of us know what we want to change. We often even know how to do it. The problem arises because we don't put that knowledge into action.

It takes up to 60 days to form a new habit. If you are ready to make positive changes, Healthy Habits can help. Sorry -- the app can't do the work for you, but it can remind you about what's important, track your progress and even send you reminders if you get off track. Add in some awards and motivational messages and you have a system that leads to success!

 

Click here to download
-Story by DPH Communications 

 

During a recent board meeting of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS), the Board of Trustees voted to discontinue the 3 percent tax offset adjustment for ERS members whose effective date of retirement is on or after July 1, 2013. Members who retire on or before June 1, 2013 will continue to receive the 3 percent tax offset adjustment and will not see a decrease to their retirement payment. 

The Board of Trustees of the Judicial Retirement System (JRS), the Legislative Retirement System (LRS), and the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) also voted to discontinue the 1.75 percent tax offset adjustment for JRS, LRS and PSERS members whose effective date of retirement is on or after July 1, 2013 during the October Board meeting. Members who retire on or before June 1, 2013 will continue to receive the 1.75 percent tax offset adjustment and will not see a decrease to their retirement payment.