Registration is now open for the GPHA Virtual Workshop and Meeting!

Wednesday, November 16, 2022
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. via Zoom
$35 for GPHA members / $45 for non-members

Schedule:

• Welcome 9-9:30 a.m.
• Plenary Speaker: 9:30-10:30 a.m.
• Break: 10:30-10:45 a.m.
• Section Meetings: 10:45-11:45 a.m.
• Closing Remarks: 11:45 a.m. – 12 noon

In addition to an opening plenary speaker, you can choose from several great section presentations during the virtual workshop. If your affiliated section is not presenting, you may choose any section of interest.

Georgia Board of Nursing CE hours through Magnolia Coastlands AHEC are available. Contact Valerie Embry via email if you’re interested in earning CE hours.

Save the Date! Make plans to join us May 3-5, 2023 for our 93rd GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference on Jekyll Island!!

Opening Plenary Speaker:

Sandra Elizabeth Ford, MD, MBA

Health Equity, Social Determinants of Health, and the Pandemic Response: A Critical Intersection

This presentation will focus on the impact that pre-existing health inequities had on COVID outcomes, and ways that state, local and federal governments have been working to address these inequities and achieve health equity.

Sandra Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A. is the Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science. In this role, which she began in May of 2021, Dr. Ford’s portfolio includes the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

Prior to assuming this exciting new role, Dr. Ford held a number of public health leadership positions in Georgia, most notably as the District Health Director of DeKalb County and Chief Executive Officer of the DeKalb County Board of Health, a position she held for 16 years. In this role, Dr. Ford directed clinical and population-based services for DeKalb’s more than 760,000 residents who speak more than 130 languages and dialects. She was responsible for programs such as Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Health, and Refugee Health.

Under her leadership, DeKalb County Board of Health received over $40 million in grant funding to address obesity, physical activity, nutrition, asthma and smoking cessation. Her Maternal and Child Health initiative, M.O.R.E. (Mothers Offering Resources and Education) has received national recognition and has been supported by entities as diverse as United Way and R&B icon Usher Raymond.

Section Meetings:

Academic Section Meeting

The Importance of Workplace Support in Health Outcomes

EMS personnel are often exposed to unsafe working conditions while caring for injured patients, emphasizing that the workplace may serve as a significant occupational health intervention site. During COVID-19, study participants reported having low social support from family members, limited health promotion programs, and adopting more avoidant coping skills than approach coping skills. In future studies, participants were interested in adopting an occupational health promotion program.

Presenter: Carlene Robinson, MPH

Carlene Robinson works full time at the Alabama Department of Public Health as an epidemiologist. Her team advances population health by providing local and state-level data on chronic disease risk factors and conditions. The reports address specific health conditions in vulnerable populations. Collectively, she has 8 years of experience in research, education, developing independent epidemiological studies, and consulting with non-profit agencies. Her public health research focuses on social support, behavioral health, and mental health. She plans to graduate with her DrPH degree at Georgia Southern University in December 2022. She previously attended University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received her MPH and Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology.

Communications Section Meeting

Digital Content Best Practices, Tips, & Tricks

Generating quality digital content can be a daunting task. This presentation will focus on tips, tricks, & tools for creating engaging content for websites and social media channels.

Presenter: Frederick Dobard-Gary III, MPA

Frederick Dobard-Gary III is the Senior Manager for Web Content and Digital Properties at the Georgia Department of Public Health, Division of Communications. Frederick is responsible for management and oversight of the state-level public health websites and social media platforms, inclusive of social and email marketing, digital media and internal systems (i.e., SharePoint, intranet, etc.). Frederick has worked in public health more than nine years and has a passion for leveraging technology to improve access to services and information, and health equity for all Georgians. Frederick inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society when he graduated from Troy University with a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in social science. Frederick is married with 3 adult children and enjoy being a “Pawpaw” to two beautiful grandchildren (Aaron and Skylar). Feel free to follow Frederick and learn more about him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/f-dobard-gary-iii/

Environmental Health Section Meeting

Active Managerial Control: Factors Influencing How Environmental Health Specialists Mark Supervision Compliance Status in Retail Food Service Establishments

Active managerial control (AMC), under the direction of the person-in-charge (PIC), takes a preventive approach to managing risk factors during day-to-day retail food service operations. While conducting routine inspections, environmental health specialists (EHS) are responsible for determining if the operator is practicing AMC by evaluating the systems that the PIC has put into practice regarding the oversight and routine monitoring of risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the contributing factors influencing how EHS assess AMC and mark supervision compliance status when risk factor violations were observed.

Presenter: Lauren Baker-Newton, MPH, REHS

Lauren Baker-Newton is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist with the Chatham County Health Department in Savannah, GA. She is a native of Savannah, GA and has been employed in the field of Public Health for approximately 16 years. Lauren received her formal education at Georgia Southern University where she received both a baccalaureate degree in Biology, as well as a graduate degree in Public Health. Since beginning her career as an Environmental Health Specialist in a rural Georgia community, she has successfully moved up the career ladder and presently she is working as the Deputy Environmental Health Manager in the largest county in the Coastal Health District. Lauren has a passion for working with the community and promoting the core values of Public Health. Most recently, Lauren was also a fellow in IFPTI’s Fellowship in Food Protection: Cohort X; where she completed the research project she will be presenting.

Epidemiology Section Meeting

Building, sustaining and expanding durable academic-public health partnerships in epi and beyond

Certain elements are almost always necessary to establishing academic-public health partnerships that truly work. Through her experience establishing the Emory COVID-19 Response Collaborative, Dr. Chamberlain will discuss these elements and describe how healthy academic-public health partnerships can enhance the capacities of epidemiologists working in both practice and academia.

Presenter: Dr. Allison Chamberlain

Dr. Allison T. Chamberlain is an infectious disease epidemiologist and associate professor at the Emory Rollins School of Public Health. An epidemiology consultant to the Fulton County Board of Health (district 3-2) since 2017, Dr. Chamberlain’s work focuses on establishing partnerships and programs that strengthen academic public health partnerships in Georgia. She established the Emory COVID-19 Response Collaborative (ECRC) in 2020 to enable the Rollins School of Public Health to assist the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) to combat COVID-19. The Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellowship is the seminal workforce-focused training program established under the ECRC; since its inception, the program has placed 37 early career epidemiologists across 16 of Georgia’s 18 health districts and at GDPH.

IT Section Meeting

10 Ways to Improve Your Cyber Security

Summary coming soon!

Presenter: Barry L. Mathis, Principal, PYA, PC

Barry has nearly three decades of experience in the information technology (IT) and healthcare industries as a CIO, CTO, senior IT audit manager, and IT risk management consultant. He has performed and managed complicated HIPAA security reviews and audits for some of the most sophisticated hospital systems in the country. Barry is a visionary, creative, results-oriented senior-level healthcare executive with demonstrated experience in planning, developing, and implementing complex information-technology solutions to address business opportunities, while reducing IT risk and exposure. He is adept at project and crisis management, troubleshooting, problem solving, and negotiating. Barry has strong technical capabilities combined with outstanding presentation skills and professional pride. He is a prudent risk taker with proficiency in IT risk management, physician relations, strategic development, and employee team building.

Nursing Section

Predictable Problems: LGBTQ+ Disparities in HIV and Monkeypox

The presentation will look at the factors that drive health inequities for persons who identify as sexual or gender minorities in the state. Disparities will be discussed within the context of the HIV epidemic and the emergence of Monkeypox.

Presenter: John Stanton, AGPCNP-BC, MSN, MPH

John Stanton is a nurse practitioner and clinical site manager for Positive Impact Health Centers, Inc with locations in Chamblee, Decatur, Duluth, and Marietta serving 4,000 people living with HIV. John is also a clinical instructor with Emory University School of Nursing with a focus on improving LGBTQ+ healthcare and teaching fundamentals of HIV medicine.