Grab your super suit and cape, and come on out with us for the 10th Annual Express Your SuperPower 5K/10K presented by the Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition and Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition. Awesome flat and fast course completely inside Etowah River Park and Heritage Park located in Canton, Georgia.
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- Written by: Jennifer King, Public Information Officer
- Category: Press Room
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Dalton, GA—The North Georgia Health District 1-2 WIC Program was recently presented with a Gold 2024 WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence for Exemplary Breastfeeding Support and Practices, showcasing its unwavering commitment to promoting and supporting breastfeeding in the community.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), recognized by the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), celebrates the exceptional efforts of local WIC agencies through the WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence program. Formerly known as the Loving Support Award of Excellence, this program was established to honor agencies demonstrating exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities on a 3-tiered level: Gold Award, Premier Award (mid-level), and Elite Award (highest level). North Georgia WIC is one of five WIC programs in the state awarded at the gold level for 2024. The other gold awardees include health districts based in Athens (District 10), Macon (District 5-2), Valdosta (District 8-1), and Waycross (District 9-2).
LaToya Osmani, MPH, Georgia’s Director of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for WIC, spoke at the presentation and said, “The North Georgia WIC team has a superior top-tier partnership with the Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition. They come together in a community engagement-driven way that can be measured and duplicated throughout Georgia.”
One of the District 1-2 WIC team’s many achievements has been supporting moms through the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program, in which experienced breastfeeding mothers reach out to WIC mothers for support. The program has recently introduced a “buddy pairing” system, allowing WIC moms with similar due dates to connect with each other for additional support.
“The peer counselors work closely with our IBCLC [International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant] WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator, Carol Hendrix,” said Karen Rutledge, RD, LD, district WIC Program Director. “Together, they provide families with both emotional support and clinical expertise, leading to significantly improved breastfeeding success rates and a supportive environment for families.”
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- Written by: Jennifer King
- Category: Press Room
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Registration is now open.
Express Your SuperPower 5K/10K:
Race starts at 8 am!
Includes a walk and a free Tot Trot for the littles (great photo op)
Etowah River Park, Canton GA
Register here!!
Sponsor Information
Georgia is in desperate need of a milk bank to provide safe and donated breastmilk to infants who are unable to receive it from their biological mothers, ensuring they receive vital nutrition and immune protection. Proceeds of this event will go to support the MedMilk Project: Building Georgia’s Milk Bank.
This race also directs attention to the global World Breastfeeding Week campaign that aims to inform, anchor, engage, and galvanize action on breastfeeding and related issues. In the end, our breastfeeding families are given the resources and support they need to make informed decisions on promoting the health of their children. This year, in harmony with all the various World Breastfeeding Week campaign themes, all our race funds will be dedicated to the development of this new milk bank for Georgia.
If you are interested in sponsoring the race please click here for the information.
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- Written by: Jennifer King,, Public Information Officer
- Category: Press Room
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Are you prepared?
Click Flyer to View & DownloadAs we enter September, it is important to recognize National Preparedness Month, a time dedicated to promoting the importance of preparing for emergencies and disasters to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe.While the resources and information provided during National Preparedness Month and on Ready.gov are available for everyone to use at any time, this year's focus is on preparing Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. The goal of the Ready Campaign is to ensure that all individuals have the necessary tools to prepare for disasters and build resilience proactively.
The theme for 2024 is "Start a Conversation," emphasizing the importance of discussing potential emergencies and disasters with our loved ones. While these conversations may be difficult, they are crucial for taking steps towards preparedness and safety. By initiating these discussions, families can work together to create a plan and take action.
What you should know about preparedness
Talking about bad things that could happen like a disaster or emergency isn’t always easy. We may think we’re protecting the people we love by avoiding these conversations, but they are important to start taking steps to get ready and stay safe.
Starting a conversation today can help you and your family to take more actions to prepare. By taking simple steps, you can build your preparedness at your own pace:
- Set aside a time when everyone is calm and relaxed.
- It may help to hold the discussions over a set time period, so decisions aren’t rushed, and people feel more comfortable talking about the topic.
- Talk about steps you’ve taken to prepare and encourage others to ask questions about preparedness actions that might work for them.
Learn How to Protect Yourself and Your Family from Emergency and Disasters
Find information and tips on how to protect yourself and your family before, during and after emergencies and disasters by visiting Disasters and Emergencies | Ready.gov. Information on hazards like floods, extreme heat, wildfires and more is available in several languages. The page also features information about emergency alerts, how to make an emergency plan and more.
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North GA - Teresa Costa, MPH, an esteemed Emory Epidemiology Fellow at the North Georgia Health District, has been honored with the prestigious Community Engagement Award from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health for 2024. This accolade is bestowed upon a fellow whose exceptional work embodies the principles of community service, recognizing those who have fostered strong connections between their health district and the community through impactful public health initiatives.
Teresa's remarkable community engagement efforts over the past year included spearheading a collaborative endeavor to develop and implement a critical community needs assessment. Despite the availability of prevention, testing, and treatment resources at low cost through the health department, Cherokee County witnessed a concerning 45% surge in confirmed syphilis cases from 2019 to 2022. This uptick
Rollins Epidemiology Fellowship Community Engagement Award 2024
disproportionately affected historically marginalized populations, including Hispanic and Black non-Hispanic individuals, as well as people from the MSM (men who have sex with men) and PWID (people who inject drugs) populations.
After successfully obtaining The Community Engagement to Strengthen Approaches to Decrease Syphilis Grant from NACCHO (National Association of County and City Health Officials), Teresa played a crucial role in initiating a comprehensive community needs assessment campaign named "Using Community Informed Methods to Reduce Syphilis in Cherokee County" to identify barriers to care. Collaborating with the health district staff and community partners such as Cherokee Focus, the Cherokee County Health Department, and The Living Bridge Center South, a community needs assessment survey was published online and was promoted through paid and unpaid ads on various social media platforms. Additionally, flyers offering access to the survey via a QR Code link were widely distributed. The campaign specifically targeted the historically marginalized populations.
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- EpiNews, August-September Issue, North Georgia Health District E-Newsletter
- Shout-Out for WIC Peer Counselors on IBCLC Appreciation Day!
- K. Mills McNeill, MD, PhD, Named New Health Director of North Georgia Health District
- Back to School Health Fair at Gilmer County Health Dept. Happens Tues., July 30th!
- Our Emergency Preparedness e-Newsletter, July-August 2024 Issue
- Launching: Our Newest E-Newsletter: Environmental Health News!
- Closed Fourth of July
- Helping Mamas® Partners with Cherokee County Health Department
- PICKENS COUNTY BACK TO SCHOOL BASH, Tuesdays, July 9th & 23rd
- Back to School Health Clinics at Cherokee Co. Health Dept. Centers, Tuesdays: 7/23, 7/30, 8/6