For at least a decade, Georgia has steadfastly refused to include questions about sexual behavior in a CDC-sponsored survey of high school students. Now that decision apparently will cost the state a shot at federal money for HIV/STD prevention. In an April 4 letter from a Department of Education official to the CDC, the state…
It’s time to go through those bathroom drawers and cabinets. Saturday is national Drug Take-Back Day. Georgia is again promoting the effort to prevent prescription pill abuse. Members of the public are encouraged to rid their homes of expired, unused or unwanted drugs. The CDC has reported that prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug…
Chuck Petersen describes himself as an “old school’’ football guy. He played and coached at the Air Force Academy, and now he coaches at Orange Lutheran High School in California. A parent last year suggested Peterson’s team members wear a new type of soft padded covering for their helmets during practice, to cut down on…
Georgia received mixed grades for its air quality in a new report released Wednesday. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville area dropped out of the Top 25 cities in the nation for ozone pollution, ranking No. 28 in the “State of the Air 2013” report from the American Lung Association. But the same area tied for 18th in…
In 1946, the federal government established a new public health center in Atlanta to fight malaria. The disease was still a problem in the United States, and the South had the highest rate in the nation. The new organization, the Communicable Disease Center, helped eliminate the malaria threat in the United States. But the center…
Georgia has recorded a 5 percent drop in its childhood obesity figures, according to state officials, citing new federal statistics. The decrease helped move Georgia’s ranking as having the second most obese child population in the nation, which came from 2007 data, to No. 17 in the new figures, from 2011, Public Health officials say. Still,…
State officials are urging Georgia school superintendents to consider adopting a daily 30-minute period of physical activity for elementary school students. A letter sent this week by state school Superintendent John Barge and by Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, cites the obesity epidemic as the impetus for the voluntary…
Over the years, Michelle Tenorio has seen all kinds of people buy all kinds of things. At her store, Gateway Jewelry and Pawn in Athens, Tenorio sells jewelry, electronics, musical instruments and a range of other goods. But the store’s most sought-after items are guns. The purchase of those guns potentially could come at a…
Does adding an insurance surcharge for smokers prompt some to kick the habit? State officials say the number of Georgians in the state employee health plan paying $80 more a month in insurance premiums due to smoking has dropped by 44 percent over the past six years. The goals of the surcharge in Georgia are…
Federally funded community health centers provide free or low-cost care to people who might otherwise go without. According to the most recent estimates, more than 300,000 patients received care from Georgia’s 27 federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs, in 2010. These centers have a reputation for being no-frills places with few amenities. That reputation may…