November is American Diabetes Month and with more than 1 million adult Georgians living with the disease - equivalent to one in seven -- raising awareness is key to prevention and management. 

Diabetes is quickly becoming an epidemic in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes affects 25.8 million people, or 8.3 percent of the U.S. population. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.

Sherry Martin, principal of Harmony Elementary School in Jasper, discusses the tobacco-free schools policy with 10-year old grandson and student, Lex Worley.

"My husband Jimmy was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2008 just a week before Thanksgiving," said Martin. "I asked the doctor if his cancer was caused from smoking cigarettes, and he said, 'Yes ma'am, it was definitely caused from smoking and smoking alone.'"

From left, East Central Health District Director Ketty Gonzalez, M.D.; Roger Vega, M.D., Treating Children with Special Health Care Needs award recipient; Maternal and Child Health Section Director Seema Csukas, M.D., Ph.D.; and Robert Wiskind, M.D., president of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Georgia chapter.

The Treating Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Award recognizes physicians who treat children with chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions.

Roger Vega, M.D., the 2012 award recipient, is professor of pediatrics and chief of the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Section at Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta.

Carol Hendrix, WIC breastfeeding coordinator for North Georgia Health District 1-2, is the 2012 Carolyn Wetzel Continuum Award Winner. From left, nominator Karen Rutledge, winner Carol Hendrix and Pat Swan, Healthy Mothers, Health Babies Coalition

Carol Hendrix, WIC breastfeeding coordinator for North Georgia Health District 1-2, was recently announced as the Carolyn Wetzel Continuum Award Winner for 2012 by the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia. This award recognizes volunteers and health professionals who contribute to the health and well being of Georgia's families.

 Georgia Southern University's Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health has been awarded a $297,185 federal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to refine and test a cervical cancer education program in the Hispanic/Latino community.

The two-year project, funded by the National Cancer Institute, is titled, "Salud es Vida (Health is Life): Reducing Access Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening among Underserved Hispanic Women." John Luque, Ph.D., assistant professor of community health, is the principal investigator of the new grant.

Daily convenient and short wellness tips are available from Cleveland Clinic experts via the Wellness Tip of the Day app.

Health and diet-related tips in two formats -- colorful bouncing balls, each displaying a wellness tip, or a calendar-style offering of daily tips - are displayed each day and can easily be shared on Facebook or emailed to others.

Download app here.