The North Georgia Health District continually strives to help our communities with all public health needs. We recognize that our health departments are not equipped to offer Opioid addiction treatment or substance abuse services, but we do hope this Community and Recovery Resource Guide will lead all who seek this type of assistance in the right direction, whether it be for themselves or for others.

This is the 2023 Edition of the guide. Services, programs, and treatment options are constantly changing, so please refer back to this guide for updates to the listed facilities. This guide will be updated annually.

Please click on the 2023 Community and Recovery Resource Guide graphic below to download the pdf document. The Spanish version has been added, too!

We want to thank all our participating community partners for their collaboration on this guide.

Health officials warn: Avoid all unfamiliar animals

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Canton, GA – A man was bitten by a raccoon on Wednesday, June 2nd while biking on the Blankets Creek Mountain Bike Trail on Sixes Road in Canton. This incident is not related to the raccoon attack that occurred earlier this week in Woodstock, even though both Canton and Woodstock are in Cherokee County, Georgia. 

The bicyclist was in the Dwelling Loop section of the trail at about 4 PM on Wednesday when he stopped to feed a raccoon he thought was injured. The raccoon bit down on the bicyclist’s hand, but because the man wore bike gloves, there was no puncture to his skin or nails. Emergency room attendants, who later examined the man at Northside Cherokee Hospital, determined no further treatment was needed. 

The raccoon was not submitted for testing, so whether the animal was infected with rabies is unknown.

Cherokee County Environmental Health officials contacted the bicyclist to recommend that he call Georgia Poison Control for any further guidance he may need, and environmental health will work with trail maintenance to have warning signs placed in the area.

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Woodstock, GA – Cherokee County Environmental Health officials advised that a raccoon attacked and bit a person on June 1st at River Chase Drive in Woodstock. The behavior of the raccoon indicated a strong probability it is rabid. The raccoon was neither captured nor killed, so residents are urged to take these necessary precautions: 

• Report any sightings of a raccoon in that area to Animal Control at (678) 493-4080. 

• Avoid all contact with raccoons and other wild mammals. If you are bitten or scratched, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Rabies is usually fatal without preventive anti-rabies treatments. 

• Children should be taught to avoid contact with wild mammals and to report any such contact to a parent or another adult who is in charge immediately. Remind children that wild animals are not pets and that wild mammals with rabies may sometimes appear tame and friendly, or they could appear sick. 

• If bitten or scratched by a raccoon or other wild mammal, wash the wound immediately with soap and water for several minutes and then apply a skin disinfectant. Seek medical attention as soon as possible. Report the bite to Environmental Health at (770) 479-0444. 

Cherokee County Environmental Health staff are canvassing the area with a printed advisory (please click the graphic) to ensure residents are aware of the incident and will watch for this raccoon and others that could potentially be rabies-infected.

Woodstock Health Center Resumes All Public Health Services

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Cherokee County, GA – On Monday, June 7, 2021, the Cherokee County Health Department will move COVID-19 vaccine distribution from Canton First Baptist Church to the health department centers in Canton and Woodstock. Also on Monday, public health services that had been suspended at the Woodstock Health Center due to the focus on the pandemic, will resume. Services at the Canton Health Center had not been suspended and will continue to be offered.

Information about the wide range of public health services and programs offered to Cherokee County residents is provided on the North Georgia Health District website at https://nghd.org/nghd-locations-listing/category/cherokee.

The health center hours are: 

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday - 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM 

To make an appointment for public health services offered at the health centers in Cherokee County, call (770) 345-7371 for the 1219 Univeter Road location in Canton or call (770) 329-0133 for the health center located at 7545 North Main Street in Woodstock.

No appointment is needed for a COVID-19 vaccination and no identification is required. The vaccine is provided at no-cost to individuals.

Everyone 12 years of age and older is urged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 immediately to help stop the spread of the virus. The health centers will offer Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, depending on availability, and Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for children ages 12 to 17.