Georgia recently dropped from a grade of “C” to a “D” on the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card. The report shows 10.8 percent of our babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, with some cities in the state showing an even higher rate. To put that in perspective, Malawi, a small, impoverished…
Injuries plague many young athletes, but when you’re as competitive and passionate about sports as Drew Ward, you sometimes weigh the physical pain against the “pain” of not being in the game. Ward, 13, is an Oconee County Middle School student who plays football and soccer, but his favorite sport is basketball. He hones his skills…
Georgia has received a lower grade on the latest March of Dimes report card on premature births, despite making progress since 2009 on reducing these preterm deliveries. The state was given a “D” grade on the 2015 report card, dropping from a “C” grade a year ago. Georgia’s preterm birth rate was 10.8 percent in…
The number of uninsured children in Georgia dropped by nearly 50,000 after the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, a new report has found. But the state’s 189,000 children who remain uninsured make Georgia’s rate relatively high – 7.6 percent, versus 6 percent nationally. The report from Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s…
Adding decorative contact lenses to a Halloween costume may have some scary health effects, federal officials warn. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced a consumer warning ahead of Halloween about the dangers of counterfeit and unapproved decorative contact lenses. The devices can make a person’s eyes look like those of a cat, zombie…
State public health officials emphasized this week that they’re evaluating rare childhood cancers in South Georgia “with great intensity.” “We’re taking it very seriously,’’ Dr. Patrick O’Neal, director of health protection at the state Department of Public Health, told GHN. O’Neal said Wednesday that based on new information, Public Health has confirmed three childhood cases…
An unassuming brick building in Decatur houses a low-profile organization that has made huge accomplishments in improving people’s health. The Task Force for Global Health’s 30 years of work was marked at a conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta on Monday. The organization’s founder, Dr. Bill Foege, was honored for his work in expanding…
Three losing bidders have filed a protest over the state’s selection of vendors for a multibillion-dollar Medicaid and PeachCare contract. Last month, four companies – Amerigroup, Peach State, WellCare and CareSource — were picked as winners of the contract to serve lower-income adults and children in Georgia. The contract for the “Care Management Organizations’’ is…
Three holdover companies and one new entrant have been selected as winners of a multibillion-dollar contract to serve more than 1 million Georgia children in lower-income families. CareSource, an Ohio-based nonprofit health plan, is set to join Amerigroup, Peach State and WellCare to serve low-income adults and children in Georgia’s Medicaid and PeachCare programs. The…
More than 1,100 Georgia pediatricians have joined a new physician-led network that aims to improve quality of care and eventually contract for payments from insurers. The sign-ups so far represent roughly one-third of the total number of pediatricians practicing in the state. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta helped create the nonprofit entity, called the Children’s Care…