Follow Us! Improving Georgia WIC State staff briefed on upcoming program changes Leaders within the Georgia Submit your story suggestions, Department of ideas, comments or a story of Public Health your own! (DPH) are now in the final stages of transforming the state's WIC In This Issue program in an effort to create Improving Georgia WIC new efficiencies and improve services. They're changes DPH's Agencies Await Sequestration commissioner labels "vital and necessary" within a program helping DPH Employee Puts Health First 303,000 mothers and children secure the nutrition and counseling they need to grow healthy and succeed. Manager Wins Humanitarian Award Kids Stand Up to Tobacco World TB Day Suicide Rates Highest in Spring App Helps Smokers Quit "On day one of becoming a new department, it was clear WIC required attention," said DPH Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., who immediately began making changes once public health was elevated to departmental status in July 2011. PHEVENTS Health Agencies Await Sequestration Inaugural State of Public Health Conference The inaugural 2013 State of Public Health Conference will be March 21 at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center in Athens. Tyler Norris, vice president of Total Health Partnerships at The state Department of Public Health said Tuesday that it expects funding reductions from sequestration, but added that it's unclear so far how much money or what programs will be cut. Kaiser Permanente, will give the keynote presentation, along with DPH Commissioner Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, who will give the plenary presentation. The event is sponsored by the Georgia Public And the timeline for decisions on federal reductions is also unknown, said Kate Pfirman, chief financial officer of Public Health, at an agency board meeting Tuesday. Health Training Center and the UGA College of Public Health. Click here for more information. Sequestration, or the "sequester,'' is a series of automatic cuts to government agencies, resulting from One Health Symposium The University of Georgia the federal debt ceiling compromise of 2011. Biomedical and Health Sciences Areas expected to see large cuts in federal health spending include Institute and Faculty of Infectious maternal and children's health, mental health, and community Diseases, along with the health centers, according to a Stateline article. State and local University of Liverpool, will host agencies that receive federal funding, meanwhile, are facing the first international One Health uncertainty as federal departments figure out the cuts. Symposium March 21-23 at the UGA Center for Continuing Education. The event will bring together researchers, human and animal health care practitioners, DPH Employee Puts Health First clinicians and experts in microbiology, infectious diseases, Chance of stroke motivates Kilgour to change disease ecology, human and lifestyle veterinary medicine, environmental health, public health, health policy and wildlife to discuss disease diagnosis and health practice. "Breaking Barriers and Crossing Scales" is this year's theme. Microbiome, hostpathogen-host interactions and biodiversity and infection will be discussed during the forum. Click here for more information. Kimberly Kilgour, 52, has a busy schedule as a preacher's wife, mother and full-time manager in the Immunology Unit at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory (GPHL). In 2010, Kilgour's schedule became even busier when her mother, Arlena, 76, had a stroke and moved in with her 12th Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference daughter after extensive rehabilitation. The 12th annual Parks & Greenspace Conference will be March 25 at Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Richard Jackson, M.D., MPH, is the keynote speaker. Jackson is professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciencces at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health. Conference activities include breakout sessions, a Beltline She tried to juggle the demands of home, work and church -- all at the expense of her health. Kilgour's first reality check was during a 2011 visit to her doctor after a colonoscopy. The follow-up results were great Walking helps Kimberly Kilgour and her mother, Arlena, improve their overall physical and mental health. Kilgour's mother had a stroke in 2010. but she was bothered by her weight gain. walking tour and picnic lunch in the garden. Click here for more information. Southwest Health District 8-2 Nurse Childhood Obesity Day Voices for Georgia's Children will Manager Wins Humanitarian Award host United Against Childhood Obesity Day at the Capitol March Registered nurse Denise 27 from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The Linnenkohl, who has overseen event is designed to build the Colquitt County Health awareness among state legislators Department since 2007, was about the prevalence of childhood presented with the 2013 obesity in Georgia and the need Walter Harrison Humanitarian to reverse the problem. Award at the Colquitt Regional Medical Foundation 2013 Dr. Daniel S. Blumental gala recently at the Colquitt Annual Public Health Summit County Arts Center. Morehouse School of Medicine's Dr. Daniel S. Blumental Annual Public The Walter Harrison Health Summit, "Preventing Humanitarian Award was Obesity through the Life Stages," established to recognize and Jim Lowry, left, president of the Colquitt Regional Medical Foundation, and Dr. Seth Berl, right, 2012 Walter Harrison Humanitarian Award recipient look on as will be April 2-3, 2013. DPH honor an individual Denise Linnenkohl accepts this year's award. Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, healthcare worker who M.D., is a featured speaker. Click demonstrates a commitment to compassionate healthcare service here for more information. and community outreach. Disaster Preparedness for Faith-based Communities The first 72 hours, a free disaster preparedness summit for leaders Kids Stand Up to Tobacco of faith-based communities will on Kick Butts Day be April 11 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at Changing a Generation Church, 3350 Greenbriar Parkway in Altanta. Click here for more information. Saying no to tobacco saves lives, no matter what tools and tactics tobacco companies use to get people Free Exercise Classes DPH offers group exercise classes every day at 2 Peachtree. Classes include dance, kickboxing, yoga, walking and more. Classes are open on a first come, first served basis and there is no need to preregister. Download the monthly hooked on their products. That's the message kids will hear on Kick Butts Day, a national observance encouraging kids and teens to speak out about the dangers of smoking and the methods of tobacco companies. Students at Mableton Elementary School in schedule. Submit Calendar Entries to Sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kick Cobb County learned about the chemicals used to make cigarettes on Kick Butts Day in 2012. communications@dhr.state.ga.us Butts Day falls this year on March 20, and groups in Georgia will join others across the U.S. who are hosting events to PHTRAINING raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use in their communities, encourage youth to stay tobacco-free and to urge elected officials Excel Working with Multiple Worksheets to take action to protect youth from tobacco and secondhand smoke. March 21 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Excel Charts March 26 10 a.m.-12 p.m. March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day DPH participating in annual awareness walk Excel Data Management & Pivot Tables March 26 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. For employees not at 2 Peachtree, classes can be attended remotely, but employees must be registered 48 hours prior to class. Register for all classes through SABA (2 Peachtree attendees register for "Instructor-Led" and remote attendees register for "Virtual" classes). Contact Lisa Miller if you have questions. Look for Word & PowerPoint classes in April and Access classes in May. Submit Calendar Entries to communications@dhr.state.ga.us Roughly one-third of the world's population is estimated to be infected with the bacteria causing tuberculosis (TB). And in 2011, there were almost 1.4 million tuberculosisrelated deaths worldwide. March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) will DPH's Tuberculosis Program staff. join the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association and others March 23 for the seventh annual Tuberculosis Awareness Walk to raise awareness of the disease. PHNEWS Suicide Rates Highest in Spring City's New Drink Rules Add Wrinkle to Coffee Orders Groups work to provide resources and erase stigma Posters on Teenage Pregnancy Draw Fire Sex Ed Without Condoms? Welcome to Mississippi Spring arrives March 20 and many will appreciate the sunshine and warmth it brings after winter's gloom. But for some, spring brings dark, desperate feelings. Hardening of the arteries common in ancient mummies It's a cruel incongruity, but spring is typically the season when suicide rates spike. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics show PHRECIPE routine rises in suicide rates in the U.S. anywhere from March to June nearly every year since 1999. Carol Koplan, adjunct assistant professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, said scientists have speculated for years on a number of causes, everything from the biological effects of sunshine to the psychology of loneliness. App Designed to Help Smokers Quit Quick and Easy Creamy Tomato Mushroom Pasta Serves 3 Click Here for Full Recipe National Cancer Institute's QuitPal is a free smartphone app to support smokers working to become smoke-free. The interactive app was developed using proven quit strategies and tools to help change behavior and assist with giving up smoking. PHWEEK Editor Nicole Price Content Coordinator Connie F. Smith Sr. Graphic Designer Ginny Jacobs Interim Web Developer Jimmy Clanton, Jr. Editorial & Design Team Tammy Beasley Carrie Gann Eric Jens Nancy Nydam Sandra Roberts Suleima Salgado Director of Communications Ryan Deal Click here to download the app. Georgia Public Health Observances | March 2013 Forward email This email was sent to gadocs@uga.edu by communications@dhr.state.ga.us | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribeTM | Privacy Policy. Georgia Department of Public Health | 2 Peachtree Street, NW | Atlanta | GA | 30303