Surgeon General pays a visit here
Published 4:22 pm Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Submitted
Florida’s new Surgeon General, Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros, visited the Hamilton County Health Department Dec. 17. She will visit all 67 county health departments in Florida as part of her Three P’s (prevention, preparedness and personal responsibility) tour.
Ros began her tour with a visit to the school clinic at the Hamilton County High School. There she was treated to a puppet show about the three P’s performed by the Youth Empowered Ambassadors for Health (YEAH) team. She was so impressed with the students and the show that she asked if it could be videotaped and shown on her website.
As part of the Hamilton County Health Fair, third grade students submitted art on the three P’s. Ros, who is an advocate for children’s health care, was again so impressed with the students’ efforts that she asked for copies of the art to be provided for her website.
After the school tour Ros returned to the health department and toured the main clinic building. She met with County Health Department Administrator Hugh Giebeig to discuss local issues and participated in a round table discussion with the health department staff.
When asked about her top priority for county health departments, Ros said she wanted to be sure they remain financially viable in these tough financial times. Other issues discussed included the Hamilton County Health Care Strategic Planning Committee, the Chronic Disease Program, the indigent drug program and teen pregnancy issues in the county. Ros said she would inform Tallahassee about the lack of access to specialty care for the indigent and Medicaid population of Hamilton County.
Staff members said they were impressed with Ros and found her to be a good listener who had a genuine interest in Hamilton County’s health care issues. They said they look forward to working with her in achieving accessible, affordable quality health care for all the residents of the county.
Ros said she was impressed during her visit to the county health department, as this is where the real core public health activities take place. She also expressed her appreciation to the health department staff for all that they are doing.
