Hi, Atlanta! 

In the midst of the federal shutdown and turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s important to remember the key roles our state institutions play in Georgia’s public health. They provide crucial services and train the next generation of public health experts, many of whom will work here.

I was reminded of this last week in Athens at the University of Georgia’s State of the Public’s Health conference. 

It’s well known that Georgia has poor maternal and child health outcomes, but it’s been hard for the state to find sustainable solutions to those problems. Dr. Keisha R. Callins, an OB-GYN who has dedicated her life to helping women in rural middle Georgia, said “showing up” and “rolling up her sleeves” in the community has helped her build trust. She also is careful with her words. For example, when a patient needs additional support, she uses the term “patient care coordinator” rather than “social worker,” a term that can make people feel stigmatized. 

Kaprice Welsh, a certified nurse midwife who is earning a doctorate in public health, and Sycarah Fisher, a psychology professor at UGA, said services are often fragmented in part because the providers don’t know each other. Welsh said social service providers would benefit from spending more time in hospitals, getting to know nurses and social workers, and those same workers would benefit from learning more about the surrounding community. 

I learned about some exciting bright spots for Georgia public health as well. UGA was awarded a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to bolster the university’s offerings in maternal and child health. This year, it has selected six scholars who are helping develop coursework, a student organization, and assessing needs. Eventually, the program will develop two stand-alone graduate courses that could be the foundation of a certificate program. 

Another bright spot comes in the form of the CARE Center at UGA, where an interdisciplinary team works on dementia research and provides support for patients, especially those in rural parts of the state. The center’s co-founder, Lisa Renzi-Hammond, is fanatical about building trust. The center’s team has made more than 125 visits to rural communities, finding that many who are at high risk for dementia are not being screened.  

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