Georgia PH week [Feb. 13, 2012]

February 13, 2012- In This Issue
Home | Walking Away from Excuses | Die of a Broken Heart | Better Dental Health | Know Your Numbers | DPH Social Media | Key Partnerships: Focus | Healthier Employees | PHBRIEFS | PHRECIPE | PHTRAINING | PHEVENTS | PHNEWS
Walking Away from Excuses: The Benefits of Physical Activity During the Work Day
The excuses for why we don't exercise are endless - "I don't have time." "I don't have a gym." "I have to pick up the kids/cook dinner/coach soccer after work." "I HATE working out.", but PHWEEK has found that many people push past those excuses and make it a priority to work out. And these are not people who have endless amounts of time once they leave the office to mosey to the gym and work out for a few hours. People with plenty of other responsibilities once they leave the office are still finding ways to live active life styles. What's their secret, you ask? They fit their workouts into their workday.

Shelleva Orr, an analyst with DPH's Maternal and Child Health Section, has been leading
a lunch time fitness class in the aerobics room at 2 Peachtree since 2003. Between 15 and 30 participants arrive each day at noon ready for aerobics and strength training. "Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we concentrate on aerobics and Tuesday and Thursdays are our weights and abs days," explained Orr.
Orr often also works out before or after work, so when asked why she makes it a priority to work out during the day, she explained that she benefits not only from the extra activity each day but from seeing the changes in her participants. "One participant started out with high blood pressure and was on seven different medications. After three months she was down to four medications and after a year she was down to just one," Orr said. "It is accomplishments like that that motivate me to do this every day."
Ebony Thomas, left, pictured here after completing a 5K race, started running during her lunch breaks at work to train for her first half marathon.
Beth Israel Study: You Can Die of a Broken Heart
Grief puts patients at higher risk of a heart attack, doctors at Beth Israel Deaconness have found. In other words, you can die of a broken heart.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that grieving patients have a 21 times greater heart attack risk in the 24 hours after losing a loved one, and that the risk of heart attacks remains elevated for at least a month. It is one of the first studies to examine the anecdotal evidence that spouses and others who lose a loved one can face declining health and premature death.
The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online in the journal Circulation, included 2,000 patients who suffered heart attacks over a fiveyear period. Patients were asked questions about potentially triggering events, including losing someone close to them in the past year.

Students Illustrate Better Dental Health in Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Counties
February is Children's National Dental Health Month and the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Department's dental prevention program will celebrate this special month along with dental staff from all over the country. In celebration, the district dental prevention program is sponsoring a dental health poster contest.
The purpose of the Children's Dental Health Poster Contest is to increase awareness of the important role that early dental prevention and care plays in the overall health of a child. Students eligible to participate in the contest are those attending elementary school grades K-5. There will be two categories: K-3 and 4-5. Each category will have first, second and third place winners plus Honorable Mention. Winners will be selected based on the oral health message, originality of the illustration and color, and overall poster presentation. The poster deadline is March 16, 2012 and winners will be announced April 13, 2012. Winning posters will be posted on the district website.
The contest is being promoted through signage in the schools, in the schools' newsletters and on the district's website. This is the first time the district has used the website to promote the contest, announce the winners, and display the winning posters. District staff believe that directing parents and students to the site for the poster contest will increase awareness of other programs, information and services the health department can provide for them.
Know Your Numbers for a Healthy Heart

What would you do if you were experiencing chest pain, discomfort in areas of the upper body, shortness of breath, nausea, or lightheadedness? Would you seek medical attention immediately or would you ignore the symptoms? Ignoring the signs and symptoms of a heart attack could potentially be life-threatening.
Warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack are:
* Chest discomfort * Shortness of breath * Lightheadedness * Nausea * Cold sweat * Palpitations * Fatigue
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Georgia. According to the American Heart Association, 21,389 Georgians died from heart disease in 2007. Approximately 145,000 hospitalizations occurred among Georgia residents due to heart disease in 2008. The cost of heart disease in Georgia in 2008 is estimated at $11.7 billion, which includes direct health care costs and lost productivity from morbidity and mortality.
February is National Heart Month. The goal of National Heart Month and Georgia's Cardiovascular Health Initiative is to increase knowledge of heart disease including heart attack signs and symptoms and the importance of calling 9-1-1. Elevated body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, high blood glucose, high cholesterol, weight, and tobacco use are all risk factors that increase a person's risk for heart disease. By getting screened, you can learn more about those numbers that increase your risk for heart disease. Knowing your numbers can help save your life. Your ideal healthy-heart numbers are:
Training Aims to Ignite DPH Social Media
On January 25, close to 20 employees of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) attended a full-day training course on social media geared toward enhancing DPH's reach through social media.
Participants learned the importance of writing concise posts, comments and Tweet to attract readers in and be viewed as a helpful resource. People who have "liked" DPH's Facebook page or "follow" on Twitter have already shown their investment in the Department by doing so; therefore, it is more about sharing helpful information and encouraging them to respond and share information with their "friends" and "followers."

(L-R) Sharon Quary, Manager, Newborn Screening Program; Pamela Clarke, Newborn Screening Program
Consultant; Johanna Pringle, Newborn Screening Program Consultant; discuss a strategy for disseminating
messages about newborn screenings via social media.

"For our breastfeeding program awareness and education, we need to reach out to this generation of young mothers," explained Marcia Hunter, State Breastfeeding Coordinator and social media training participant. "Using social media is the way we can reach them and interact with them about our messages."

Key Partnerships are the Focus of UGA Television Program Featuring DPH

Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., joined Phaedra Corso, Ph.D. and Cham Dallas, Ph. D. from UGA's School of Public Health once again as a guest on UGA's Public Health Impact television show to talk about various topics, including the importance of key partnerships for the new agency.

Dr. Fitzgerald described Public Health as a "cooperative and collaborative" system consisting of a state agency, 18 Public Health Districts and collaboration with the county health departments that are run by county boards of health. She emphasized the benefits of Public Health being arranged in this way.

"We have the ability to bring together different groups of people to solve a problem," said Dr. Fitzgerald. "For example, infant mortality is a major problem in Georgia and we have identified six areas of Georgia that have the highest infant mortality." She explained that the Department is able to take these data to the identified areas and meet with local stakeholders to discuss solutions. By meeting with the local district health directors, pediatricians, obstetricians and other community groups, DPH has the ability to have a significant impact on infant mortality in these areas.

Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. talks to Phaedra Corso, Ph.D. of UGA's Public Health Impact about the key issues for the new Georgia Department
of Public Health.

Commissioner Fitzgerald Paves the Way for Healthier Employees

Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., introduced to 2 Peachtree Public Health employees an innovative worksite wellness program that focuses on insulin. Dr. Fitzgerald believes that high insulin levels can lead to health issues like high bloodpressure, diabetes and obesity and that knowing how to control your insulin levels can help you stay healthy. Dr. Fitzgerald will lead the way in implementing a worksite wellness program that will make participants aware of their insulin levels, educate them on the health conditions those elevated levels can lead to and how to take steps to reduce their insulin.

As a part of the new worksite wellness program, Dr. Fitzgerald held a Lunch and Learn encourage participants to think more about the foods that they put in their bodies and how some foods can increase a person's insulin levels.

High insulin levels are the results of unhealthy food choices and not enough physical activity. Refined foods, especially carbs, produce sugar very quickly in the body,

Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald discusses with state Public Health employees the importance of maintaining
the proper insulin levels.

resulting in the pancreas secreting insulin to meet the demands of removing sugar from

the bloodstream, according to researchers. In time, the insulin secreting cells get tired and stop working effectively.

Insulin is the hormone from the pancreas that regulates carbohydrate metabolism and affects fat metabolism and fat storage according to health experts. The food you eat stimulates the amount of insulin in your body.

"I have a better understanding of how food choices, like white potatoes and French fries directly affect my insulin levels," said Ricky Livingston, Health Educator, who attended the Lunch and Learn. "I'm looking at ways to prepare sweet potatoes and yams rather than white potatoes to control my insulin levels and make my whole family healthy."

PHRECIPE

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stir-Fry Servings: 4 Prep Time: 12 Cook Time: 22 minutes Total Time: 34 minutes Click Here for Full Recipe
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