NORTH GEORGIA HEALTH DISTRICT

Healthy people, families, and communities.
  • NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

    NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dalton (GA)  – “Getting to Zero” is a rededication to the goal of entirely eliminating HIV transmission, and that is the vision for the World AIDS Day Celebration at First Baptist Church of Dalton on Monday, December 1, 2014 from 11:30 A.M. to 1 P.M.

“Getting to Zero”, the theme for World AIDS Day, held annually worldwide on December 1 since 1988, is about reducing new infections, increasing awareness of HIV and AIDS, decreasing prejudice against those whose lives are touched by this epidemic, and improving access to care and support for people living with the virus, including people who are infected with the virus and their loved ones.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 6 (15.8%) are unaware of their infection. In 2010, over 15,500 people diagnosed with AIDS in the U.S. died, and approximately 636,000 people in the U.S. with an AIDS diagnosis have died overall*.

The World AIDS Day Celebration in Dalton is an opportunity to show support for people in this community who are living with HIV/AIDS and to commemorate people who have died. Reverend Rodney Weaver will preside over the ceremony and Dr. Mark Elam will be the guest speaker. Deanna Baker of the Living Bridge Center will present a Time of Remembrance, and there will be musical performances and testimonials.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend. First Baptist Church of Dalton is located at 311 North Thornton Avenue, Dalton, GA 30720.

For more information, please call (706) 281-2370.

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*References: CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics/ataglance.html

 "My Life. My Health. My Decision."

- 2014 Healthy Youth Summit theme

Holly Springs (GA) Cherokee Youth Council members James Lindsey, Jasmine Lewis and Caleb Ductant recently attended the 2014 Healthy Youth Summit with adult leader Kirby Lewis-Hobba to launch a tobacco-free environment partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (DPH) North Georgia Health District 1-2.

Sponsored by DPH’s Chronic Disease Prevention Section and Georgia SHAPE, the Governor’s initiative to increase physical activity in Georgia schools, the 2014 Healthy Youth Summit was attended by over 130 teenagers on October 24 through 26 at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Dalton (GA) – Public health departments in the North Georgia Health District counties of Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield have placed special emphasis on the importance of early breast cancer detection as part of their recent Breast Cancer Prevention Awareness campaign.

Staff have demonstrated through printed materials, breast exams, discussions, photos (see below) and a proclamation that breast cancer treatment is most effective when the cancer has been diagnosed at an early stage and before it has spread to other parts of the body.

Typically, the focus is on women because nearly 40,000 women die of breast cancer annually.

Josefina Arvizu-Villela WIC Nutritionist takes participants on Shopping and Cooking Matters Tour for Healthy Eating in Canton for web smCanton (GA) – Josefina Arvizu-Villela, WIC Nutritionist and Georgia Department of Public Health Dietetic Intern, believes in promoting healthy eating.

“It’s time to become more conscious about eating healthy,” Arvizu-Villela said, “and that means making healthier choices at the grocery store and learning how to prepare food in a healthy way.”

Arvizu-Villela, through North Georgia Health District 1-2 of the Georgia Department of Public Health and its Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, conducted a "Share our Strength” and “Cooking Matters” tour on October 22 at the Kroger Store on Marietta Highway in Canton. Arvizu-Villela’s tour, attended by several local families, provided information about healthy eating, including how to read food labels, compare unit pricing, find whole foods and other important information that families can use while shopping.

The families were also taught how to save money when buying healthy foods and how to prepare healthy meals the smart and inexpensive way.

“Some people are telling me they don’t eat a healthy diet or provide healthy meals to their families because they don’t know how to cook in a healthy way, and they also feel eating healthy is expensive and time-consuming,” said Arvizu-Villela. “Through this tour, participants are learning how to eat well on a budget and how to prepare meals ahead of time so they can avoid making unhealthy or expensive food choices when crunched for time.”