PROGRESS 2024: Accessible preventive services available through local public health

Published 5:00 pm Friday, March 29, 2024

The Whitfield and Murray County Health Departments, part of North Georgia Health District 1-2 of the Georgia Department of Public Health, are dedicated to enhancing the well-being of individuals, families and communities in this area.

Their mission is to promote and protect community health through comprehensive preventive programs that reach people in all aspects of their lives.

Healthcare tends to focus on treating illness, whereas public health aims to prevent disease and injury from occurring in the first place. Public health initiatives target entire populations, emphasizing the benefits of preventing illness in communities and attempting to make those preventatives accessible to as many people as possible.

The Murray and Whitfield County Health Departments offer a wide range of public health preventive services, including:

• Women’s health checkups, pap smears, breast and cervical cancer screening, family planning service (including birth control) and education, and pregnancy tests.

• Well-child visits from birth to 21 years; immunizations; immunizations for child caregivers; hearing, vision and dental screenings; and car safety seat education.

• Immunizations to children and adults for influenza and other vaccine-preventable diseases, including state-required vaccinations for school registration.

• Women, Infants and Children (WIC) services, including food vouchers; nutritious eating recommendations; support for eligible pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children under age 5; referrals to doctors and dentists; and programs like food stamps, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Medicaid, Head Start, daycare and parenting classes.

• STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing and treatment, HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) services and free condoms.

• Prescription accessibility support for eligible people through MedBank Clinics in both county health departments.

Additional services at the Whitfield County Health Department include an Adult Health Clinic that provides eligible adults evaluation, health screenings and treatment for a variety of illnesses as well as PrEP services and a Hypertension Clinic, Vital Records for birth and death certificates, and children’s dental care.

The Living Bridge Center is a vital North Georgia Health District resource that offers state-of-the-art HIV care and prevention services, and one of its two clinics is in Dalton.

To ensure accessibility, the health departments charge only administrative fees for most services, and many clinical services are often offered on a sliding scale based on family income and size.

Eligible individuals may receive certain services that are free, including services through the Children With Special Needs program that assists parents who have children with conditions that, without intervention, could lead to developmental delays, WIC services and presumptive eligibility assistance with enrolling in Medicaid.

Other free services include contact tracing, testing and possible treatment of certain notifiable infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), COVID-19, Mpox, etc., when state and local public health conduct campaigns to stop or prevent an illness outbreak from spreading in the community.