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DeKalb County Board of Health Unit Profile

Community/Jurisdiction Served:

Georgia - DeKalb County

Sponsoring Organization:

DeKalb County Board of Health

Date Established:

9/30/2002

Unit Information:

445 Winn Way
Decatur, GA 30031
http://www.dekalbhealth.net/...

Contact Information:

Willie Atkinson
445 Winn Way
Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: 404-294-3205

Profile:

The MRC Unit in the DeKalb County Board of Health serves an urban, ethnically diverse county of 685,000 people within metropolitan Atlanta. In a bioterrorism or other public health crisis, the DeKalb County Board of Health's MRC unit can assume a critical role in surge capacity. Currently, the MRC unit has 419 individuals who are a part of our volunteer effort. They are recruited and trained to respond to an emergency and to assist with emergency preparedness drills. In the Fall of 2005, the MRC participated in an anthrax drill at StoneCrest Mall and contributed to over half (231) of the drill participants. We also purchased a Public Health Virtual University system in 2005, an online emergency training and management tool designed to prepare volunteers and public health staff to respond to emergencies. The MRC has employed many strategies in recruiting and retaining volunteers through various media, print advertisement, an MRC Web site, a Web-based quarterly newsletter, and a self-produced television show entitled "The Security Report." In terms of retaining volunteers, we have divided MRC volunteers into 4 focus groups, namely, marketing/PR, Ongoing activities in prevention and health disparity reduction, grants/fundraising, and training/education. This was done to fully utilize volunteers in their area of interest and expertise and help retaining volunteers. During the latter part of 2005 and 2006, our MRC hosted monthly MRC lecture series on emergency preparedness and public health topics for our MRC volunteers, public health professionals and community members. In January of 2006, the DeKalb MRC launched its quartlerly lecture series on health issues relating to diabetes, asthma and obesity. The purpose of the “Healthy DeKalb, Healthy Communities” quarterly forums is to educate residents on health issues relating to obesity, diabetes and asthma and to promote healthier choices relating to diet and physical activity.

Volunteer Count:

Physicians	14
Physician Assistants	3
Nurse Practitioners	0
Nurses	15
Pharmacists	2
Dentists	0
Veterinarians	1
Mental Health Professionals	4
EMS Professionals	1
Respiratory Therapists	1
Other Public Health/Medical	44
Non-Public Health/Non-Medical	189
Total	274

Recent Activities:

8/19/2010
Our Unit will be hosting its quarterly meeting. We will review training and preparedness events that were held earlier in the year as well as to plan MRC participation in upcoming training opportunities. The quarterly meeting topics will cover current flu season preparation; and a Sky Warn briefing will be presented by a (guest)NOAA meterologist.

5/15/2010
MRC Volunteers (6) participated in the H1N1 Vaccination Campaign held on this date at four(4)local DeKalb County High Schools. Volunteers served as greeters and patient flow assistants.

1/30/2010
One of four H1N1 Vaccination Campaigns was held at the Perimeter Mall in the Northeast area of Atlanta. MRC Volunteers assisted as greeters and patient flow assistants during this event.

11/21/2009
We held a DeKalb County wide mass vaccine clinic for H1N1. This was a targeted for 2,500 doses for the CDC's priority groups. The hours we from 9am to 3pm and we seen about 650 citizens.

9/29/2009
Our unit will be hosting its third quarterly meeting. We will discuss some of the activities that we've participated in which include trainings as well as ongoing initiatives. The topics will touch on the current flu season activities as well as hurricane season. Our local emergency preparedness team will discuss how volunteers can prepare themselves and family members.

Last Updated on 8/17/2010