A national expert says Georgia’s hospital cancer programs are delivering a quality of care that’s “right in line with what we’re seeing nationally.’’ The more than 40 accredited cancer programs in the state are showing “a consistent level of performance,’’ Andrew Stewart, senior manager of the National Cancer Database of the American College of Surgeons,…
Joey Krakowiak has always known he wanted to be a doctor. Now, after four months as a medical student at the Georgia Health Sciences University-University of Georgia Medical Partnership in Athens, he is learning the basic science and clinical skills he has been curious about from an early age. While a childhood interest in the…
More than 1.5 million Georgians 18 and older smoke cigarettes. Another 315,000 adults in the state use some form of smokeless tobacco. And tobacco use is increasing among Georgia teenagers. Overall, smoking costs Georgians $1.8 billion in direct health care costs every year and $3.2 billion in lost productivity. Two state agencies have been trying…
Georgia lowered its preterm birth rate last year, but the state still received a “D’’ grade on the annual preterm birth report card released Tuesday by the March of Dimes. The reduction of Georgia’s preterm birth rate – from 13.8 percent to 13.2 percent – is part of a national trend. Forty states saw improvement in their rates between…
Many future doctors enter medical school with the dream of one day treating diseases, but Theodora “Teddie” Brandon sees medicine differently. “I think it’s important to prevent disease and not just treat it. Some of the biggest advances in improving health in the last century have been in public health – with vaccines, sanitation ….
A 2011 CDC report showed the percentage of Georgia births at “Baby-Friendly’’ hospitals — those that promote breastfeeding — stood at zero. This year’s updated report card shows Georgia still at zero. State public health officials, though, aim to help put Georgia hospitals on the “Baby-Friendly’’ map. The Georgia Department of Public Health and the…
After smoking on and off for more than 12 years, Atlanta native Katie Moore may have finally kicked the habit for good. How did she do it? By moving 880 miles away, to New York, where the state tobacco tax is the highest in the country — $4.35 a pack, nearly $3 more than the…
About 45 million Americans embark on diets each year, according to data released by Boston Medical Center. And the vast majority fail. Approximately 65 percent of Americans who actually lose weight on diets return to their pre-diet weight in three years, and only 5 percent of people who lose weight on restrictive diets — such…
A 66-year-old Bibb County woman is the state’s first case of fungal meningitis related to contaminated epidural steroid injections. The woman is clinically stable and is not hospitalized, the state Department of Public Health said Tuesday. Across the nation, 23 people have died and close to 300 have become ill with fungal meningitis linked to…
Buying a special license plate is making a difference in fighting breast cancer in Georgia. October is breast cancer awareness month, and a state health agency has awarded a total of $1.1 million to 16 community organizations in Georgia for breast cancer services to indigent women. The money comes from the sale and renewal of the Breast Cancer License Tag….