This Thanksgiving, I give thanks to my DPH team and the unbelievable results in telling the story of our Georgia Department of Public Health
What might be “all in a day’s work” for enormous PR firms, might just be monumental within the Division of Communications at the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Our team serves as the department’s in-house, full-scale marketing and communications agency, creating and delivering multiple forms of internal and external communication – work coordinated with communications staff in each of Georgia’s 18 public health districts. Our Atlanta-based team manages and oversees outreach and social marketing activities for more than 100 important Public Health programs including those housed within the sections of Chronic Disease Prevention, Maternal and Child Health, Infectious Disease and Immunization, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Emergency Medical Services, Pharmacy, Nursing, Volunteer Health Care, Vital Records, and the State Public Health Laboratory.
This amazing team in the Division of Communications leads all interaction with the public and news media to improve the health of our communities, connect Georgians with important information and services, and maintain transparency. Every week, the Division of Communications answers dozens of inquiries from state, national and global media organizations and publishes PHWEEK, Georgia’s most widely-circulated public health newsletter. The innovative development of a Speakers Bureau has yielded hundreds of speaking engagements to advance the work of our department.
With learning a cornerstone, you manage all of the department’s digital properties, including award-winning websites and social media platforms, each with growing audiences and content delivering the most current, up-to-date information in real-time. Most recently, we, together, built and launched a broadcast-quality video production studio – another advancement aimed at preserving precious resources and funding for areas where they’re most needed.
On this Thanksgiving, I applaud your achievements and honors, including 19 individual Awards of Excellence from the CDC’s National Public Health Information Coalition and a Web Health Award, while also sharing a Georgia Technology Innovation Award from the Georgia Technology Authority and receiving Honorable Mention for Individual and Community Preparedness from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
It’s all been since 2011. And it’s all been accomplished through unbelievably hard work and measurable outcomes. You’ve worked to lower morbidity and mortality rates; reduce the burden of pre-term births; improve access to care in key areas including HIV and family planning; invent the CAPUS Care Portal; and launch the ever-growing Georgia SHAPE initiative to improve the health of our state’s youth. Each of these achievements, and countless others, is yours. I am honored to be a part of this most important team – the DPH Division of Communications – bringing real, unprecedented results to our state.
To my team, Happy Thanksgiving.
>> New Video Production Studio to Connect DPH with Live Audiences (9/15/2014)
>> Seven National Awards Presented to DPH Division of Communications (8/25/2014)
>> DPH Communications Projects Receive Six National Awards (9/26/2013)
>> DPH Launches New Website with You in Mind (9/6/2013)
>> DPH Launches New Branding (9/4/2013)
>> DPH Hosts First Twitter Chat: CDC’s HIV chief joins agency to discuss challenges in Georgia (12/10/2012)
>> DPH Brings Six NPHIC Awards Home (10/9/2012)
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