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| November 28, 2011- In This Issue |
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Home
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World AIDS Day |
Drive-by Flu Shot Clinics |
Emory CMS Coalition |
Public Health Early Years |
HIV/AIDS Milestone |
Innovative HIV Assistance |
PHACE |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
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PHNEWS
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PHPOLL
World AIDS Day Recognized in Georgia
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December 1st is World AIDS Day, a day for people
worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV.
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On Thursday, Governor Deal will renew Georgia's commitment
to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, developing and
delivering more effective treatment, and finding a cure, by
proclaiming December 1, 2011 to be World AIDS Day in
Georgia. Georgia will join countries around the world to
recognize World AIDS Day. The first ever global health day,
World AIDS Day unites people in the fight against HIV, shows
their support for people living with HIV, and commemorates
those who have died.
"HIV/AIDS has had a devastating impact on our society for 30
years," said Brandi Williams, HIV Prevention Manager with the
Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) HIV/AIDS Unit. "It is
time for us to recommit ourselves, and Governor Deal is
demonstrating that through his proclamation. It is time to come
together to seek solutions to address the impact this disease is
having on our society."
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Drive-by Flu Shot Clinics a Great Success in North
Georgia
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A public health nurse administers a flu
shot to one of thousands of north
Georgians who were vaccinated via
Drive-By Flu Shot Clinics operated in
the North Georgia Health District this
fall.
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The holidays are a busy time of year full of
travelling, shopping, social gatherings and
sometimes, the flu. County public health departments
in the North Georgia Health District decided to help
people fit flu shots into their busy schedules by
conducting drive-by flu shot clinics. This quick and
convenient method of delivery allows people to stay
in their vehicles to receive their flu shot: an easy
and safe method of flu protection.
Moreover, the drive-by flu shot clinics served as an
opportunity for the health departments in Cherokee,
Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield
counties to test their abilities to rapidly
administer medications in the event of a widespread
public health crisis.
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Emory Launches Global Coalition
to Combat Cardio-Metabolic Syndrome
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Omar Lattouf (left), Emory University School of
Medicine; Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of
Public Health; and Nicolas Chronos, Saint Joseph's
Translational Research Institute.
Photo by Chris Savas.
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Public health officials and medical experts from around the
world recently announced the formation of the Global
Coalition to Combat Cardio-Metabolic Syndrome. The need
for the group was established at a recent summit hosted by
The Halle Institute for Global Learning at Emory University
to address the rising global epidemic of cardio-metabolic
syndrome.
Cardio-metabolic syndrome (CMS) is a cluster of diseases and
risk factors-including high blood pressure, high blood
sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels and abdominal fat-that
puts a person at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and
stroke. The underlying causes are obesity, being overweight,
physical inactivity and genetic factors.
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J. Patrick O'Neal, MD -
Remembers Public Health's Early Years
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A very well-respected force in his field, Dr.
Pat O'Neal has watched Emergency Preparedness
move to the forefront of public health.
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With a trembling voice, Dr. J. Patrick O'Neal, MD, Director
of Health Protection for the Georgia Department of Public
Health, struggles emotionally to find the words to describe
the painful event that sparked this revelation. "Nearly 40
years later, it still gets to me," he says.
Dr. O'Neal recounts his experience as a new doctor on
Christmas Eve, when a father accidentally backed over
his 2-year-old child, with his car. "When they brought
the child to me, there was no sign of life. "But you
don't give up when it's a child. We resuscitated him
for three hours and finally stopped."
Barely able to continue, he painfully describes having
to tell the mother that her child was dead. "I can
still hear her voice crying out, 'Please don't stop.
Jesus wouldn't take my baby at Christmas Eve!'"
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HIV/AIDS
Epidemiology Section Reaches Milestone
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Atlanta NHBS Team members after completing
surveys at a local bar in October 27, 2011.
Pictured l-r back row: Jhetari Carney, Monique
Martin, Jeff Todd, Genetha Mustaafaa, KaeAnn
Parris. Middle row: Linda Chukwura, Angela
DeQuesada, Greg Bautista, Cameron Hartwill,
Carla Hardy. Front row: Dr. Jianglan White,
Melissa Cribbin, Natalie Spears. Also in
attendance were special guests from the CDC (not
pictured) Dr. Jonathan H. Mermin, Director of
the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention; Dr. James
D. Heffelfinger, Branch Chief, Clinical Outcome
and Behavioral Surveillance Branch; Dr.Gabriela
Paz-Bailey, NHBS Team Leader; and from DPH, Dr.
J. Patrick O'Neal, Director of Health
Protection.
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It is an important
milestone for the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS)
Atlanta Team (housed in
Georgia HIV/AIDS Epidemiology section at DPH). One of
only a few funded sites in the U.S. who reached this
milestone ahead of schedule - the Atlanta Team surpassed
the CDC-assigned 2011 goal of completing 500 interviews
with men who have sex with men (MSM). This milestone is
one cycle of a larger study to analyze HIV-related risk
behaviors, testing behaviors, as well as HIV prevalence
among the populations at high risk, including men who
have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users (IDU) and
heterosexuals at increased risk for HIV (HET).
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DPH finds promise in Arizona in
HIV care
In an effort to seek innovative ways to assist HIV patients with
their treatment costs, the Georgia Department of Public Health
recently sent Infectious Disease and Immunization Program
members Libby Brown, Tiffany Hudson, Gay Campbell and Linda
Thomas to Arizona to investigate a relatively new program, the
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). They met with
Steven Bailey, Ryan White Part B, Care and Services Program
Manager with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
PCIP was created as part of the nation's new health
insurance law, the Affordable Care Act. The PCIP program
was designed to make health insurance available to people
who have been denied coverage by private insurance companies
because of a pre-existing condition. PCIP provides a health
coverage option for people who have been uninsured for at
least six months, have a pre-existing condition or have been
denied health coverage because of their health condition,
and are U.S. citizens or reside in the U.S. legally.
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DPH Information Services Group
does an about PHACE
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PHACE is an online social network developed to
facilitate communication and information
exchange across DPH. The network is currently in
its pilot phase.
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Nearly three months ago, Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, MD,
gathered 80 public health practitioners to set a new
direction for the Department of Public Health's Information
Services. Part of the plan to create a centralized IS system
for the state, districts and counties involved the creation
of the Public Health Active Communication Exchange, or PHACE.
Much like Facebook, PHACE is an online discussion forum and
project team communication tool dedicated to ensuring the
exchange of information across all districts. Currently, PHACE
is a pilot program and is only open to members of the
Information systems group, who are testing the site.
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Home
|
World AIDS Day |
Drive-by Flu Shot Clinics |
Emory CMS Coalition |
Public Health Early Years |
HIV/AIDS Milestone |
Innovative HIV Assistance |
PHACE |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
|
PHNEWS
|
PHPOLL
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