Don't forget to join us as we celebrate the opening of the new Lactation Room in the Allen Temple AME Church of Woodstock! The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 11 A.M. this Saturday, September 29, 2012 in the Nursery of the Allen Temple AME Church, located at 232 Arnold Mill Road in Woodstock. 

The public is cordially invited to attend the 11 o'clock ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as the associated Pass It On - Good Health Celebration that will be conducted from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. at Woodstock City Park!

For more information about the opening of the Lactation Room at Allen Temple AME Church or if you are interested in the Pass It On - Good Health Celebration, contact Dr. Orin Gill at (678) 761-2203 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.www.georgiashape.orgThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This is a reminder that the Gilmer County Health Department is gearing up for its DRIVE-BY FLU SHOT CLINIC FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 FROM 8 A.M. TO 1 P.M. at the First United Methodist Church of Ellijay at 75 McCutchen Street.

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot, and the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic is designed to make getting that shot quick, easy and convenient!

The regular seasonal flu vaccine is $20 and the high dose flu shot is $50. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State CIGNA and State Healthcare Insurances.

For more information, please contact the Gilmer County Health Department at (706) 635-4363. 

Blue Ridge (GA) – 172 Fannin County residents were vaccinated today at the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic held by the Fannin County Health Department at the Farmers Market in Blue Ridge. 75 of the shots administered were the high dose flu vaccine for adults ages 65 and older.

“That’s 172 folks who are now better prepared to face the flu season,” said Freda Williamson, county nurse manager, “And we urge all residents to protect themselves by
receiving a flu shot at the health department on Ouida Street here in Blue Ridge.” 
Cecil Patterson receives flu shot from Beth Thomas at Drive-by in Blue Ridge
Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot.

The flu vaccine is $20 at the health department and the department accepts cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State Cigna and State Healthcare Insurances.

Today's flu shot clinic also served as an opportunity for the Fannin County Health Department to test their ability to quickly administer medications in a widespread public health crisis such as pandemic influenza. Vaccinations were administered within just a few minutes of participants' arrival at the clinic.

THE FANNIN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT REMINDS YOU TO COME TO THEIR DRIVE-BY FLU SHOT CLINIC TODAY ANY TIME FROM 9 TO 5 AT THE FARMERS MARKET ON EAST FIRST STREET IN BLUE RIDGE!

PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST THE FLU BY GETTING VACCINATED EASILY AND CONVENIENTLY WHILE NEVER HAVING TO LEAVE YOUR CAR.

THE REGULAR FLU SHOT IS $20 AND THE HIGH DOSE FLU SHOT FOR ADULTS AGES 65 AND OLDER IS $50. THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS ACCEPTING CASH, CHECKS, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, STATE CIGNA AND STATE HEALTHCARE INSURANCES.

Don't forget to join us for the  Pass It On - Good Health Celebration at Woodstock City Park this Saturday, September 29 from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M.

The Pass It On - Good Health Celebration is FREE to all and will remind families of how much fun it is to play together while getting physically fit!

Bring the whole family to enjoy fun games, entertaining exercises, walking, jump roping, healthy snacks, nutritious recipe demonstrations, and health screenings such as blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) measurements and hearing, dental and vision screenings for kids!

Plus, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables will be available at affordable prices.

The Pass It On - Good Health Celebration is a *Georgia SHAPE event and is sponsored by the Allen Temple AME Church of Woodstock. Participating partners include LA Fitness, Kroger, Cherokee County Health Department, North Georgia WIC, and the North Georgia Health District, part of the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Woodstock City Park is located at the corner of Main and West Mill Streets in Woodstock.  

To learn more about the Pass It On-Good Health Celebration or how to participate, contact Dr. Orin Gill of Allen Temple AME at (678) 761-2203 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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*More about Georgia SHAPE: Georgia SHAPE is an exciting initiative to improve Georgia’s future, beginning with our state’s most vital and important asset - our young people. We know all children can benefit from knowledge of their current health-related fitness levels, along with a capacity to develop and implement strategies for personal improvement. For more information on Georgia SHAPE visit:
www.GeorgiaSHAPE.org.

Don't forget to protect yourself against the flu this season quickly and easily while never having to get out of your car at the DRIVE-BY FLU SHOT CLINIC in Blue Ridge on Wednesday!

The Fannin County Health Department will conduct their Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic this Wednesday, September 26 from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. at The Farmers Market on East First Street in Blue Ridge.

The regular seasonal flu vaccine is $20 and the high dose flu shot is $50. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State CIGNA and State Healthcare Insurances.


For more information, please contact the Fannin County Health Department at (706) 632-3023.

This is a reminder that the Whitfield County Health Department will conduct its DRIVE-BY FLU SHOT CLINIC on Tuesday, October 2 from 8:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. and on Wednesday, October 3 from 8:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. The clinic will be held at the Whitfield County Health Department, located at 800 Professional Boulevard in Dalton.

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot, and the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic is designed to make getting that shot quick, easy and convenient!

The regular seasonal flu vaccine is $20 and the high dose flu shot is $50. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State CIGNA and State Healthcare Insurances.

For more information, please contact the Whitfield County Health Department at (706) 226-2621.

Jump roping, invigorating walks, eye-catching exhibits, healthy snacks and stimulating martial arts demonstrations were all part of the fun families enjoyed at the World Breastfeeding Week Celebration events held today at the Murray County Recreation Center in Chatsworth and at the Mack Gaston Community Center in Dalton.

North Georgia WIC, Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition, Georgia Mountains Health, Bradley Wellness Center, Amerigroup Real Solutions, WellCare of Georgia, Peach State Health Plan, Murray County D.A.R.E., Dalton Police Department, Dalton Fire Department, and SEO's Martial Arts of Dalton partnered in these events to stress to over 400 attendees the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Keisha Pinson of Rocky Face breastfeeds son, Marius, while at World Breastfeeding Week event in Dalton with daughter, Kari, and older son, TzarielAnd that road begins with breastfeeding.

While malnutrition plagues numerous developing countries, rates of obesity are at an all-time high in many developed countries, with the highest prevalence in the United States and Mexico. The health and nutritional status of mothers and infants are directly linked, making appropriate infant feeding a critical first step in preventing these and a variety of other medical conditions. 

Research shows that infants who are not exclusively breastfed for their first six months of life are also more likely to develop a wide range of chronic and acute diseases and conditions including ear infections, diarrheal diseases, asthma, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and respiratory illnesses. In addition, mothers who do not breastfeed are at an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

FREE HIV TESTING WILL BE OFFERED AT THE MACK GASTON COMMUNITY CENTER IN DALTON ON THE LAST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH, BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 25!
Take the Test. Take Control! Free HIV Testing at Mack Gaston Community Center in Dalton last Tuesday of each month.
TESTING WILL TAKE PLACE FROM 1 P.M. TO 4 P.M. THIS TUESDAY, THE 25TH.

HOWEVER, STARTING IN OCTOBER, THE HIV TESTING TIMES ON THE LAST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH WILL BE FROM 1 P.M. TO 6 P.M.

BECAUSE ALL OF US MATTER, WE SHOULD UPDATE OUR HIV STATUS! ANYONE AT RISK FOR HIV, OR ANYONE WHO HAS THE DISEASE BUT DOESN'T KNOW IT, HAS POWERFUL REASONS FOR LEARNING THEIR HIV STATUS. 

TAKE THE TEST, TAKE CONTROL!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FREE HIV TESTING AT THE MACK GASTON COMMUNITY CENTER, LOCATED AT 214 FREDRICK STREET IN DALTON, CALL (706) 281-2360. 

Woodstock (GA) September 19, 2012 - The Allen Temple AME Church will celebrate the opening of its new Lactation Room with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 A.M. on September 29, 2012. The room will be conveniently located in the Nursery. The church understands the benefits of breastfeeding to infants and supports mothers who desire to breastfeed their babies. The Lactation Room will provide a comfortable location and privacy for mothers who desire to nurse their babies while away from home. The addition of the room is another step toward the church's goal of reducing childhood obesity by providing education and support to the church community. Additional games, activities and events will be offered on September 29th from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. at Woodstock City Park to highlight this focus.

The Lactation Room is a result of the Georgia SHAPE partnership between the Health Ministry of Allen Temple and North Georgia Health District's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Georgia SHAPE is a statewide, multiagency, multidimensional initiative of Governor Nathan Deal joining governmental, philanthropic, academic, and business communities to lower incidence of overweight and obesity in Georgia – now at epidemic proportions.

UPDATE: As of 11:40 A.M. on September 19, the two dogs referred to in this press release had been euthanized, according to Shannon Bradburn of Fannin County Environmental Health. 

Blue Ridge (GA) September 19, 2012 - Fannin County Environmental Health officials announced today that a raccoon that fought two dogs in Mineral Bluff has now tested positive for rabies.

The dogs were not vaccinated, therefore, the decision is being made as to whether or not they will be euthanized.

There was no known human exposure to the raccoon.Stock photo

According to Environmental Health Specialist Shannon Bradburn, Fannin County Environmental Health received a call on Thursday, September 13 from a friend of the dogs' owner who said the dogs had fought the raccoon that day at the owner's residence on Jasper Road in Mineral Bluff. The friend said the raccoon was dead and they were making arrangements to have it taken to a local veterinarian who prepared the remains for shipping to the state lab.

On the next business day, Monday, September 17, environmental health picked up the specimen and shipped it to the Georgia State Laboratory for rabies testing, and the lab confirmed late afternoon on Tuesday, September 18 that the raccoon had tested positive for the rabies virus.

Environmental health officials immediately notified all parties involved of the positive results, and today, they are contacting residents in the area to assess if others had been exposed and to alert them to the possibility of more rabid animals in the area.

Despite rainy conditions that forced Murray County Health Department's Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic indoors today, 135 Murray County residents came to the Murray County Recreation Center for their vaccinations and are now better prepared to face the flu season.
Debbie Chesnutt, County Nurse Manager, gives a flu shot to Tom Starnes, former County Manager and Director of Economic Development, at the Murray County Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic
Debbie Chesnutt, County Nurse Manager, is pleased with the turn out today and is urging all residents to protect themselves by receiving a flu shot at the health department located at 709 Old Dalton-Ellijay Road in Chatsworth.

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot.

The flu vaccine is $20 at the health department, and the department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State Cigna and State Healthcare Insurances.

Today's flu shot clinic also served as an opportunity for the Murray County Health Department to test their ability to quickly administer medications in a widespread public health crisis such as pandemic influenza. Vaccinations were administered within just a few minutes of participants' arrival at the clinic.

For more information about receiving a flu shot, please contact the Murray County Health Department at (706) 695-4585, or log onto www.cdc.gov/flu.
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More photos are on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.410695888985181.102397.130708733650566&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.410695888985181.102397.130708733650566&type=3

This is a reminder that the Fannin County Health Department will conduct a DRIVE-BY FLU SHOT CLINIC WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 FROM 9 A.M. TO 5 P.M. at The Farmers Market on East First Street in Blue Ridge.

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot, and the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic is designed to make getting that shot quick, easy and convenient!

The regular seasonal flu vaccine is $20 and the high dose flu shot is $50. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State CIGNA and State Healthcare Insurances.

For more information, please contact the Fannin County Health Department at (706) 632-3023.

The Whitfield County MEDBANK office will be closed Monday, September 24 through Friday, September 28, 2012 while the office is being moved to 420 Hamilton Street in Dalton. MEDBANK will re-open for business at its new location on Monday, October 1, 2012.


To learn more about Whitfield County MEDBANK and the services it provides, log onto http://nghd.org/Whitfield-County-Health-Department/medbank.html.

Did you know that safe, cost-effective dental care for Kids is available through the local Public Health Dental Clinic? 

Conveniently located in the Whitfield County and Murray County Health Departments, the Public Health Dental Clinic offers advanced state-of-the-art dental care, hygiene, assessment, health education and treatment to children between the ages of 3 and 19. Services are especially extended to children who have had limited or no access to dental care.

The clinic is currently accepting new patients with NO WAITING PERIOD! So, parents, call the Public Health Dental Clinic at (706) 281-2206 in Dalton or (706) 695-4585 in Chatsworth to schedule an appointment for your child to receive these preventive and clinical services: 
       - Routine cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings and extractions
       - Sealants
       - Space maintainers
       - Baby root canal
       - Emergency care
       - Free language assistance

Clinic hours in Dalton are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M. and on Friday, 8:00 A.M to 2:00 P.M.

Clinic hours in Chatsworth are Wednesday, 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

The clinic accepts Medicaid, Peach Care, Wellcare, Amerigroup, Peach State and most private insurance plans. They also offer a sliding scale to those who qualify financially.

Call for an appointment today!

Due to forecasted rainy conditions, the Murray County Health Department will conduct its Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic INDOORS tomorrow. Therefore, the clinic will be held on Tuesday, September 18 from 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. INSIDE the Murray County Recreation Center at 651 Hyden Tyler Road in Chatsworth.

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot,
and the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic is designed to make getting that shot quick, easy and convenient!

The flu vaccine is $20. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State CIGNA and State Healthcare Insurances.

For more information, please contact the Murray County Health Department at (706) 695-4585.

Woodstock (GA) - The Pass It On - Good Health Celebration will be in Woodstock City Park on Saturday, September 29, 2012 and will be open and FREE to the public from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M.

Packed with wholesome activities and nutritious treats, the Pass It On-Good Health Celebration is being coordinated by Allen Temple AME Church of Woodstock and will serve as a festive reminder to families of just how much fun it is to play together!

This event is part of Georgia SHAPE Month, when during September, Georgians from every corner of
the state are invited to participate in a vast array of health and fitness activities.

"Georgia SHAPE is about improving the health of our state's children," Gov. Nathan Deal said as he signed the official September proclamation. "And SHAPE Month is about letting every Georgia family know we support them and we want them to know fitness is fun."

Fitness and fun will certainly be the theme at the Pass It On - Good Health Celebration as LA Fitness gets folks moving and North Georgia Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides free healthy cooking tips along with nutritious recipes that the whole family will enjoy. Plus, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables will be available at affordable prices, and Kroger will supply healthy snacks.

Additionally, the Cherokee County Health Department will provide activities and screenings that focus on improving healthy behaviors.

Woodstock City Park is located at the corner of Main and West Mill Streets in Woodstock. 

To learn more about the Pass It On-Good Health Celebration or how to participate, contact Dr. Orin Gill of Allen Temple AME at (678) 761-2203 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
_____________________________________________________________________
More about Georgia SHAPE: Georgia SHAPE is an exciting initiative to improve Georgia’s future, beginning with our state’s most vital and important asset — our young people. We know all children can benefit from knowledge of their current health-related fitness levels, along with a capacity to develop and implement strategies for personal improvement. For more information on Georgia SHAPE visit: www.GeorgiaSHAPE.org.

Join us for a World Breastfeeding Week Celebration on Friday, September 21! The celebration event will be held at both the Murray County Recreation Center in Chatsworth from 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. and at the Mack Gaston Community Center in Dalton from 5 P.M. to 8 P.M. Come with the whole family for a healthy walk, exciting exhibits and FREE goodies! Get a FREE celebratory baseball cap provided by the Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition. The World Breastfeeding Week Celebration will take place rain or shine! For more information, call Kerry Smith at 706-934-4128.

Woodstock (GA) - 152 Cherokee County residents protected themselves against influenza with a flu shot on Tuesday at the Cherokee County Health Department's Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic in Woodstock. 53 of those received the high dose flu shot for people ages 65 and older.Wayne Bostick gets a Drive-by Flu Shot in Woodstock

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot, and the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic on Tuesday was a quick and convenient way to receive the vaccination.

"We are happy with the turn out at the drive-by clinic," said Nancy Stackhouse, Cherokee County Health Immunization Outreach Coordinator and Georgia's 2012 CDC Childhood Immunization Champion. "That's 152 people who are now better prepared to stay healthy this flu season."

Denise Bowman, Cherokee County Health Department Manager, is urging all residents to protect themselves by receiving their flu shot at either of the public health centers in Canton and Woodstock. The centers are located at 1219   Univeter Road in Canton and at 7545 North Main Street in Woodstock.   

The regular seasonal flu vaccine is $20 and the high dose flu shot is $50. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State Cigna and State Healthcare Insurances.

This is a reminder that the Murray County Health Department will conduct a DRIVE-BY FLU SHOT CLINIC TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 FROM 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. in the parking lot of the Murray County Recreation Center at 651 Hyden Tyler Road in Chatsworth.

Having the flu can lead to serious complications and death. The best protection against influenza is a flu shot, and the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic is designed to make getting that shot quick, easy and convenient!

The flu vaccine is $20. The health department is accepting cash, checks, Medicare, Medicaid, State CIGNA and State Healthcare Insurances.
 
For more information, please contact the Murray County Health Department at (706) 695-4585.