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Oct. 24, 2024

Future Meetings

See all GHA meetings.

Resources

GHA Coronavirus Information

COVID-19 information and resources.

Ebola

The Department of Public Health (DPH) offers answers to your Ebola questions.

State Epidemiologist

24-hour access to a State Epidemiologist: 1-866-PUB-HLTH.

CDC Information

Visit www.cdc.gov to stay up to date on current information.

Disaster Mental Health

The Georgia Disaster Mental Health website addresses the mental health components of disasters.

Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) Visit to access behavioral health services.

SAMHSA: Preventing Suicide

Visit the suicide prevention resource page.

Region M Welcomes New Healthcare Coalition Coordinator

Santo Nino joined Memorial Satilla Health as their safety & emergency management coordinator and healthcare coalition coordinator for the Region M Healthcare Coalition. Santo can be reached at Santo.Nino@hcahealthcare.com or (912) 722-7173.

Egypt Has Been Declared Malaria-Free by the World Health Organization

Egypt has been declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization. Egypt is the third country in the Eastern Mediterranean region WHO has acknowledged as malaria-free, following Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

AHA Partners with the FBI on Mitigating Targeted Violence in Health Care Settings

The American Hospital Association (AHA) in partnership with the FBI released a new resource and webpage on mitigating targeted violence in health care settings. Targeted violence in health care refers to intentional and harmful acts in which care teams, patients and health care facilities are specifically singled out. Such acts of violence can take many forms, including physical assaults, verbal threats, harassment, and even large-scale attacks.

Drug Overdose Deaths Fall for Six Months Straight as Officials Wonder What's Working

After years of rising, the tide may finally be turning on deadly drug overdoses in America. Drug overdose deaths fell 12.7% in the 12 months ending in May, according to preliminary data released Oct. 16 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is the largest recorded reduction in overdose deaths,” White House officials said in a statement.

FDA Issues Recall for Antidepressant Drug

The Federal Drug Administration issued a recall on Oct. 22 for a common medicine for depression. Over 7,000 bottles of Duloxetine were recalled due to the elevated presence of Nitrosamine, an ingredient believed to be cancerous, according to the FDA. The agency labeled the recall as a Class II, meaning the product has a low chance of causing significant injuries or death.

E. coli Outbreak Linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders

CDC, FDA, USDA FSIS, and public health officials in multiple states are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Most people in this outbreak are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick. It is not yet known which specific food ingredient is contaminated. McDonald’s is collaborating with investigation partners to determine what food ingredient in Quarter Pounders is making people sick.

Products Recalled Over Peanut Contamination Fears

More than 20 spice products including dips, curry powders and seasonings have been recalled over fears they may contain peanuts not mentioned on the label.

In a notice issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the decision to withdraw the products - supplied by FGS Ingredients Ltd in Leicester - was described as "precautionary".

NEWSLETTERS

CISA Community Bulletin - October 2024

ASPR Health Care Readiness Bulletin - Oct. 21

ASPR HPH Sector Engagement Opportunities - Oct. 21

ASPR HPH Sector Highlights (Cybersecurity) - Oct. 18

Georgia Weekly Influenza Report - Week 41

MESH Weekly Situational Awareness Brief - Oct. 18

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - Oct. 17

News and Notes - Oct. 18

EDUCATION

Emergency Preparedness Systems Training:

Everbridge Training

GHC911 Training

AHEPP Conference

Feb. 24-26, 2025

Governor's Hurricane Conference

May 11-16, 2025

IAEM Annual Conference

Nov. 15-21

National Healthcare Coalition Preparedness Conference

Dec. 10-12

Preparedness Summit

Apr. 29-May 2, 2025

RESOURCES AND REMINDERS

Waivers and Flexibilities for Providers

Following the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'(HHS's) declaration of a public health emergency (PHE) in Georgia in response to Hurricane Helene, retroactive to Sept. 24, the waivers and flexibilities for providers in addition to the blanket 1135 waivers that HHS already issued. If facilities need additional waivers, they can submit requests to CMS.

Resources in Response to Hurricane Helene

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has resources to help children, families, and communities navigate the impacts of a hurricane and potential tornadoes, acknowledge their feelings, and find ways to cope together.

Georgia Hurricane Response Hub

The Georgia Hurricane Response Hub has trainings and resources to help public health and health care professionals with their hurricane and disaster response duties.

Reminder: Identify, Isolate and Inform!

Identify, Isolate and Inform: It is important to continue to ask travel questions. The purpose of this notice is to remind health care providers about actions to take in Georgia when evaluating patients for possible serious communicable diseases!

Travel Clinical Assistant (TCA)

The Travel Clinical Assistant provides post-travel clinical information on travel-related diseases for 231 countries. Diseases with recent outbreaks occurring in the last two years are listed first.