The Coastal Health District of Georgia serves the counties of Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long & McIntosh
The Liberty County Health Department is now open until 7 p.m. every Thursday. Health department officials hope that staying open late one day a week will help make it easier for people with busy schedules to get the public health services they need. The health department opens every day at 8 a.m.
For more information on Liberty County Health Department services, click HERE or call 912-876-2173.
Smoke from wildfires burning in South Georgia is making its way into some coastal counties and as a result, Coastal Health District officials are encouraging residents to take precautions. For healthy people, smoke from wildfires that contains particles from burning trees and shrubs can irritate your eyes and respiratory system. However, smoke can worsen chronic health problems such as lung disease, asthma, and allergies. People with existing respiratory conditions, young children and elderly people are especially susceptible to health effects from this smoke.
It’s important to limit your exposure to the smoke and take precautions to protect your health and the health of your family.
Seek medical attention if you are having difficulty breathing or if your symptoms worsen.
ATLANTA – Georgia is leading the country with above average early childhood vaccinations with 75.6 percent of children 19-35 months old protected, compared to national averages of 72.2 percent for the 7-vaccine series. However, health officials here say statewide immunization statistics show that more can be done to stop vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in Georgia.
As recent disease outbreaks demonstrate, immunizing infants and young children remains a critical component of protecting vulnerable infants against potentially deadly diseases.
So far in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 1,200 cases of mumps across the U.S. Other recent outbreaks include a pertussis outbreak in 2012 that infected more than 48,000 people, and a measles outbreak that started at Disneyland and impacted 188 people in 2015. Each of these diseases is preventable by vaccines.
During National Infant Immunization Week, April 22-29, the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics urge parents to check with their pediatrician to ensure their child is up-to-date on vaccinations.
“Immunizations are the best way to protect infants and children from childhood diseases, like whooping cough and measles that can be life-threatening at young ages,” said Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “It is critical for parents to talk to their child’s doctor to ensure they are up-to-date on immunizations, because no child should have to suffer a vaccine-preventable illness.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to become aware of vaccination rates in their community. The AAP offers an interactive map (https://immunizations.aap.org/) that highlights vaccination rates in each state for recommended childhood vaccines, including vaccines that protect against measles, mumps, pertussis, polio and influenza. It also offers state-by-state information about community immunity thresholds, which is the level at which disease outbreaks are prevented.
“High immunization rates in the community provide a buffer of protection that makes it harder for diseases to break through,” said Georgia Chapter AAP President Ben Spitalnick, M.D., Savannah. “Vaccines protect children from diseases, and they also keep communities healthy by protecting infants who are too young to be vaccinated, or those who have compromised immune systems.”
The Georgia Department of Public Health and the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage everyone – in observance of National Infant Immunization Week – to protect the little ones who cannot yet protect themselves. Please contact your pediatrician or your local public health department to ensure your infant is up-to-date on vaccinations. For more information contact the Georgia Department of Public Health http://dph.georgia.gov/immunization-section or http://www.gaaap.org/immunizations/.
The Coastal Health District Prevention Program will offer free and confidential HIV testing event in observance of National Transgender HIV Testing Day from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, at the Chatham County Health Department located at 1395 Eisenhower Drive in Savannah.
National Transgender HIV Testing Day (NTHTD) is a day to recognize the importance of routine HIV testing, status awareness, and continued focus on HIV prevention and treatment efforts among transgender and gender non-binary people. In observance of this day, the Coastal Health District will offer free, rapid confidential testing. No appointment is necessary. Anyone who gets tested at the event will receive a gift card.
Physical activity and nutrition are essential for children to develop healthy lifestyles that will help reduce the risk of chronic disease later in life. To that end, the Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia Shape, HealthMPowers, Inc. and Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning have developed Growing Fit Kit: Wellness Policies for Georgia’s Early Care Environment. A free training on the kit will be offered to staff from early care centers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, at the Coastal Health District office located at 420 Mall Blvd. in Savannah.
Training will center around a tool kit which provides a step-by-step process to guide early care educators in the development and/or improvement of nutrition and physical activity policies and practices. It also contains an explanation of the importance of a wellness policy, a self-assessment tool to evaluate current policies and practices, success stories from other early care settings, healthy eating and physical activity resources, and a planning document with suggestions and examples for writing the policy.
This educational learning experience is a Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning approved CEU course allowing participants to earn required training units while strengthening their wellness policy efforts to create healthy environments for students to learn and teachers to work. This training also helps move centers toward achievement of Quality Rated standards set by the Department of Early Care and Learning.
To register for either training session, please contact Cristina Gibson at 912-644-5818 or email cristina.gibson@dph.ga.gov.
The Coastal Health District is observing National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with “Cupcakes & Condoms,” a free, confidential HIV testing event. There will be giveaways, including cupcakes, and candid talk about sexual health. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, March 10, at the Chatham County Health Department located at 1395 Eisenhower Drive.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is an annual observance that sheds light on the impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls. Every year on March 10, and throughout the month of March, federal, national, and community organizations come together to show support for women and girls impacted by HIV and AIDS. This year marks the 12th observance of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Today, about one in four people living with HIV in the United States is female. Only about half of women living with HIV are getting care, and only four in 10 of them have the virus under control. Women face unique HIV risks and challenges that can prevent them from getting needed care and treatment. Addressing these issues remains critical to achieving an HIV- and AIDS-free generation.
Georgia Preteen Vaccination Week is March 13-17 and Camden County Health Department officials are encouraging parents to bring preteens to the health department on Thursday, March 16, to get up-to-date on vaccinations. Both Camden County Health Department locations – 1501 Georgia Avenue in Woodbine
and 901 Dilworth Street in St. Marys – will be open until 6:30 p.m. on March 16 and no appointment is necessary.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices currently recommends that 11 and 12 year olds receive Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis/whooping cough), HPV (human papillomavirus), meningococcal, and flu vaccines. Also, any preteens should be brought up-to-date on any other vaccines that may have been missed such as the chicken pox vaccine.
For more information, please call the Camden County Health Department at 912-576-3040 (Woodbine) or 912-882-8515 (St. Marys).
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is receiving complaints from residents of Georgia and residents of other states about suspicious phone calls. Many of the calls appear to come from a Georgia DPH phone number.
“Right now, we do not know the real reason for the calls or what the caller is truly looking for,” said Rick Keheley, DPH’s inspector general. “We do know the calls are not coming from the Georgia Department of Public Health.”
DPH encourages residents to be extremely cautious when participating in health-related telephone surveys.
DPH does occasionally use telephone surveys to gain information on health trends and it is important to understand the difference. DPH:
Residents with questions or those wishing to report a suspicious call should contact DPH’s Office of Inspector General at (404) 656-4409 or reportdphfraud@dhr.state.ga.us
About the Georgia Department of Public Health
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is the lead agency in preventing disease, injury and disability; promoting health and well-being; and preparing for and responding to disasters from a health perspective. For more information about DPH, visit www.dph.ga.gov.
Tuesday, February 7, will mark the 16th observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) and the Coastal Health District will recognize the day by holding HIV testing events throughout the eight-county public health district. The Coastal Health District Prevention Program will offer free and rapid confidential HIV testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7 at health departments in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties. No appointment necessary.
The NBHAAD 2017 theme is “I am my Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper: Fight HIV/AIDS.” NBHAAD is directed, planned, and organized by a group known as the Strategic Leadership Committee, a coalition that partners with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to mobilize communities in an effort to address local epidemics and influence the course of HIV in African American communities across the country.
The Coastal Health District has close to 1,400 active cases of HIV and Georgia ranks 5th highest in the nation for the total number of new diagnosis of HIV. The Coastal Health District encourages the community to use this observance to promote HIV prevention practices and reduce the stigma surrounding the disease.
Go to www.nationalblackaidsday.org to learn more about NBHAAD. To locate services for a free HIV test or to access treatment, visit Georgia Department of Public Health’s CAPUS (Care and Prevention in the U.S.) Care Portal at www.gacapus.com or call the Georgia AIDS/STD Infoline at 1-800-551-2728.
For more information on the testing events, please call Diane DeVore at 912- 644-5828 or email Diane.Devore@dph.ga.gov.
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