Georgia PH week [Feb. 6, 2012]

February 06, 2012- In This Issue
Home | Forging Hearts of Iron | Combating Child Obesity | DPH recognizes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day | Effington Co. Health Dept. Gives Kids a Boost | Heart Health in Fulton County | Severe Weather Emergency Kit | PHBRIEFS | PHRECIPE | PHTRAINING | PHEVENTS | PHNEWS
Forging Hearts of Iron: Showing the Possible for People with Congenital Heart Defects
To watch Eva run around with her siblings, you would never guess that she is anything but a regular four year old. She plays with her younger sister and keeps up with her older brother and sister. She is strong, goofy and full of energy. Her infectious personality gives no clues to the struggles she has overcome from her very first moments on Earth. Eva was born Nov. 30, 2007 with a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). She has since had five open heart surgery procedures. Her final procedure was in April 2010 and is meant to be the last of the series.

Eva's condition was not found in her prenatal ultrasounds and at the hospital when she was born. Her mother stresses the importance of educating staff about conditions like Eva's. "Early diagnosis is so important," she explained. "Conditions like Eva's can be prenatally diagnosed. Much teaching needs to go to the ultrasound technicians and OB/ GYNs to catch them early."
After Eva's first surgery, her heart stopped and she had to be placed on a machine called ECMO, which is a kid-sized, heart, lung bypass machine that would allow her heart to rest and gain strength. When children are placed on ECMO, their chance for survival is 50 percent.

"Eva is alive because she had access to that ECMO machine," explains her mother. "Machines like ECMO are only possible through donations to hospitals and are specifically donated to those departments. If the machines had been in use by other children when Eva needed it, she would have died. Eva is a miracle. Her name means 'giver of life' and she makes us appreciate the gift of life so much more."

Eva (bottom left), born with a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, joins her family in
representing Ironheart Racing Team at the Help Mend Broken Hearts 5k.

Combating Child Obesity a Priority
As published in the AJC http://www.ajc.com/opinion/combating-child-obesity-a-1326994.html
The devastating facts on diabetes are about as awful as they come. Diabetes is a chronic disease that often leads to blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure and even death. It plagues our state and causes more deaths each year in the United States than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
By the time we reach age 65, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate half of us will have diabetes or pre-diabetes. And yet, all too often, we overlook the most important fact - overwhelmingly, the vast majority of cases are entirely preventable. Many Americans believe that diabetes is strictly genetic, and we have little control over whether the condition will develop. This is likely true for genetically influenced Type I diabetes in which a faulty immune system affects insulin production. Insulin is critical in regulating blood glucose levels. While the exact cause that triggers Type I diabetes is unclear, we do know that Type I diabetes accounts for only 5 percent of diabetes cases in the United States. Enter Type II.
An astonishing 95 percent of all diabetes cases are Type II. Millions of Americans are living with this chronic disease, and the most important causative factors are poor diet and a lack of physical activity. If you think this is familiar to another issue we in Georgia struggle with, you're absolutely right. Obesity is a major physical indicator that someone might have pre-diabetes or diabetes. We must focus on our future.

DPH recognizes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day as an Opportunity to Encourage African Americans to Get Tested for HIV
African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite representing only 14 percent of the U.S. population in 2009, African Americans accounted for 44 percent of all new HIV infections in that year.
In Georgia, African Americans represented 30 percent of the total population in 2009, but 74 percent of all diagnosed HIV cases. Compared with members of other races and ethnicities, African Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections at all stages of disease - from new infections to deaths.
On February 7, 2012, DPH will join the nation in recognizing National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) as a national HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative targeted to reach African Americans in the United States. There are four specific focal points: education, testing, involvement, and treatment.
Educationally, the focus is to get African Americans educated about the basics of HIV/AIDS in their local communities. Testing is at the core of this initiative, as it is hoped that African Americans will mark February 7th of every year as their annual or bi-annual day to get tested for HIV. This is vital for those who are sexually active and those at high risk of contracting HIV.
When it comes to community and organization leadership, getting African Americans involved to serve as community advocates and volunteers to encourage others to get educated and tested for HIV is a key focus area. And finally, getting those living with HIV or those who recently tested positive for the virus connected to treatment and care services is paramount.

Effingham County Health Department Gives Kids a Boost
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in children ages 3 - 8. Most of the fatal or serious injuries could have been prevented had they been using a car seat correctly or at all. In an effort to educate and promote the new Georgia child passenger safety law, a statewide partnership with support from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety between the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), the Office of Injury Prevention, and the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) to educate parents on Georgia's car seat and booster seat law was created - Give Kids a Boost Campaign. This partnership worked together to promote and provide education on the new law requiring children up to eight years old to be in an approved car seat and installed in the back seat. The new state law took effect July 1, 2011. The previous law only required children to age six to ride in a car seat.
The local Health Districts planned back to school Immunization events with GSP education and distribution of booster seats. This combined two important issues to protect Georgia's children. Each Health District was provided a booster seat educational program and fact sheet handout for parents/caregivers on the new law. Each GSP Post was provided booster seats for distribution at these events. More than 125 events took place around the state and over 2,300 booster seats were distributed to families. Most events were held in July and August of 2011, immediately following Representatives from the Effingham when the new law went into effect.
County Health Department and Georgia
State Patrol check to make sure car seats The law brings Georgia in line with the age recommendations the National Highway Traffic Safety are properly installed and provide eligible Administration (NHTSA). Georgia is already one of 47 states that require booster seats or other community members with booster seats. appropriate devices for children who have outgrown their car seats but are still too small to use an adult seat belt safely.

Heart Health in Fulton County: Time for Action

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Fulton County for both men and women. Nearly 30 percent of all deaths in Fulton County were due to cardiovascular disease in 2008. In an effort to increase awareness of cardiovascular disease, the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness organized the Healthy Heart Coalition (HHC) of Fulton County to develop an effective, multifaceted approach to promote heart health while creating opportunities for further collaborations.

HHC kicked off its initiative on Nov 15, 2011 at the Roswell-Alpharetta Recreation

Center. There were a total of 60 participants at the meeting from various sectors.

Chad Neilson, an epidemiologist with the Georgia Department of Public Health

(DPH), talked about the status of heart health in Fulton County and Mr. Michael J.

Miller from the Brown & Miller PR firm shared with the participants the tactics he had to play to get the menu labeling law passed in the state of California. The featured guest speakers, Chad Neilsen, DPH; Michael J Miller, Brown Miller

Local hospitals and organizations set up booths at the Healthy Heart Coalition of Fulton County kickoff to educate participates about heart health.

Communications, Inc.; and William Riner, Rural Metro EMS shared perspectives for improving poor health outcomes through education

and social media marketing.

"Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in Fulton County," stated Dr. Matthew McKenna, Medical Director, Fulton County Health & Wellness. "And although we seem to be heading in the right direction in some way, we need to have further discussions to figure out what to do about the things that are headed in the wrong direction."

PHPOLL: Only 18% of PHWEEK Readers Prepared for Severe Weather with an Emergency Kit.

Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., along with representatives from Georgia's emergency management agencies joined Governor Nathan Deal to proclaim the week
of Feb. 6-10, 2012, as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Georgia.
Georgia is no stranger to the effects of severe weather. The beginning of 2011 brought with it snow and ice that paralyzed the northern third of the state of several days. Fifteen people were killed and 143 injured across the state when tornadoes struck in April. Even though we've had mostly mild weather so far this year, 2012 started off with a tornado that struck Gordon County, damaging over 100 homes. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) encourages all Georgian's to make sure their families are prepared for severe weather.
Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., along with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security (GEMA), the National Weather Service (NWS) and Georgia's local emergency management agencies joined Governor Nathan Deal to proclaim the week of Feb. 6-10, 2012, as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Georgia. The goal of the week-long observance is to encourage Georgians to practice emergency preparedness and response procedures for all types of severe weather events that occur in the state.
The proclamation took place at the Capitol just days after devastating tornadoes struck our neighbor, Alabama. The severe weather in Alabama was a strong reminder to everyone in Georgia about the power of Mother Nature.

PHRECIPE
Chickpea Burgers & Tahini Sauce
Rather than a heavy, fried falafel, here's an updated version of this pocket sandwich: a light chickpea patty served in a whole-wheat pita with a flavorful but light tahini sauce.
Servings: 4 Active Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes
Click Here for Full Recipe
Home | Forging Hearts of Iron | Combating Child Obesity | DPH recognizes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day | Effington Co. Health Dept. Gives Kids a Boost | Heart Health in Fulton County | Severe Weather Emergency Kit | PHBRIEFS | PHRECIPE | PHTRAINING | PHEVENTS | PHNEWS