Georgia PH week [July 16, 2015]

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District 4 Public Health Sponsors Community Fitbit Challenge in July

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For those who wear a Fitbit - a wireless activity tracker that monitors the number of steps one takes, distance traveled, calories burned and even sleep cycles - the device alone often is the only motivation needed to increase daily physical activity.

In This Issue
District 4 Public Health Sponsors Community Fitbit Challenge
Public Health Leaders Encourage Proactive Planning for National Bioterrorism/Disaster Education
Month School Lunch Blues Exercise Provides Real-World Emergency
Preparedness Training Clyde Watkins Jr., M.D., Joins DeKalb County Board of Health App of the Week: NFL Play 60
Challenge App
PHEVENTS
Looking for DPH events? Visit the Events Schedule
on our website.
PHTRAINING
Two for Tuesdays
Join the Office of Human Resources on the second Tuesday of each month from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. for the
learning series Two for Tuesdays. This series provides an opportunity for
programs to explore new ideas, share knowledge and highlight teams and their work. To learn more about the training and to register, click here.
Saba LMS has a new home! Log into Learning- Development.dph.ga.gov .
Free Online Courses Available from Lynda.com

For the month of July, District

4 Public Health is offering Fitbit enthusiasts even more incentive to step up their game.

Shown in front of District 4 Public Health's future location on Main Street in LaGrange with their Fitbits are employees (from
left to right) Amy Nixon, HR assistant; Dawn Walker, quality director; Nick Burke, IT director; Allie Crawford, accreditation
assistant and social media coordinator; Beth Daniel, health

District 4 Public Health is

promotion coordinator; and Alicia Watson, program associate.

challenging Troup County residents to join its 50 employees in a Fitbit Challenge, a

month-long competition to see who can log the most steps taken between July 1 and

July 31. The winner will receive a prize package worth about $300, which includes a

Fitbit the winner can give to a friend.

Public Health Leaders Encourage Proactive Planning for National Bioterrorism/Disaster Education Month

Disasters often grab headlines

and incite lots of public

attention after they occur, but

making preparations ahead of

time can go a long way toward

reducing fear and limiting the

threats they pose to your

health and safety. That

thinking is the crux behind one

of this month's declarations as

National Bioterrorism/Disaster

Education Awareness Month.

Emergencies and disasters can strike without warning, leaving

No matter the type of emergency you're facing, having a plan and appropriate

Georgians with limited time to plan for their safety. Emergency preparedness leaders are encouraging proactive safety planning
this July in observance of National Bioterrorism/Disaster Education Month.

resources in place is the key to protecting yourself and those around you in an

efficient manner when time is of the essence. This is especially important when

considering the unexpected nature of emergencies that can make significant impacts

in Georgia and abroad.

DPH has a limited number of licenses for lynda.com which is an online library
of high-quality, easy-to-use instructional videos on the latest software, creative and business skills. Licenses are available for check out on a first come, first served basis. To check out a license, simply email Lisa Miller from your PH email account.

"Most people are reluctant to put time and effort into preparing for disasters before they occur, and that complacency can be to their detriment," said Eric Jens, DPH risk communicator. "A large part of our mission is to stress the importance of individual and community preparations during pre-disaster periods to lessen the impact. We know disasters will happen, but we rarely know exactly when and to what degree. This makes a constant state of readiness a good idea."

Instructor-Led Microsoft Classes
Microsoft instructor-led classes will only be approved for groups that can
guarantee a minimum of six DPH participants. Please contact Lisa Miller for more information and to schedule a
class.
Submit calendar entries to communications@dph.ga.gov by 12
noon on Wednesday.

School Lunch Blues Exercise Provides Real-World Emergency Preparedness Training
Every day during the school year, thousands of Georgia students head to the cafeteria at lunch time to enjoy a hearty school meal.

PHNEWS
Most Americans Favor Raising Legal Smoking Age to 21: CDC
Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children
Heroin Deaths Quadruple Across US
Fat Stigma Fuels Weight Bullying
Anti-Vaccine Trend Has Parents Shunning Newborns' Vitamin Shot
Wide Variations Seen In Stroke Care

It's hard enough feeding such a

large number of students in a

short time frame each day, but

protecting students from food-

borne illnesses is an even

larger undertaking for the typical cafeteria staff.

The Georgia Food and Feed Rapid Response Team contributed its resources to resolve a mock food safety contamination case to help prepare Georgia for real life public health emergencies.

That's where the Georgia Food

and Feed Rapid Response Team (GA RRT) comes to the rescue.

The GA RRT is a coalition of food safety and emergency response leaders led by the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) and multiple sister agencies including the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The GA RRT also partners with neighboring federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Keeping Blood Pressure Low in Those Under 50
90% of Americans Eat Too Much Salt
PHRECIPE

Clyde Watkins Jr., M.D., Joins DeKalb County Board of Health
Clyde Watkins Jr., M.D., has just joined the DeKalb County Board of Health.
Dr. Watkins is a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Emory University's School of Medicine. He is also founder of the Capstone Medical Group.

Jicama Pina Breeze
Serves: 3 Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Click Here for Full Recipe

"I am delighted to have Dr.

Watkins as a board member," DeKalb County Probate Court Judge Jeryl Rosh (left) and District said District Health Director S. Health Director S. Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A., (right) join

Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A.

Clyde Watkins Jr., M.D., after he was sworn in as a board

"His dedication to the residents

member of the DeKalb County Board of Health.

of DeKalb County, as well as his extensive knowledge of chronic diseases and health

disparities, make him a welcome addition to an already wonderful team."

PHWEEK
Communications Director Shawn Ryan
Editor Ebony Brooks
Content Coordinator Connie F. Smith-Lindsey
Graphic Designer Darryl Moland
Web Developer Jimmy Clanton, Jr.
Editorial & Design Team Tammy Beasley Eric Jens Nancy Nydam

App of the Week: NFL Play 60 Challenge App
Childhood obesity rates are at an all-time high. Today, nearly one in three kids and teens in the United States are obese or overweight. We know that physical activity produces overall physical, psychological and social benefits, and that inactive children are likely to become inactive adults.
That's why the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Football League teamed up to create the PLAY 60 Challenge, a program and mobile application that inspires kids to get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day in school and at home. It also helps schools become places that encourage physically active lifestyles year-round.
NFL's PLAY 60 is a dedicated partner to Georgia Shape, the Governor's Childhood Obesity Initiative. Through school-based grants facilitated by the GENYOUth Foundation, the Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60) program is advancing Georgia Shape's mission by helping schools receive the funding and expertise needed to expand their physical activity programming.

Georgia Public Health Observances | July 2015

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