At a time where individual well-being and collective health are top priority, the Georgia Department of Public Health’s South Health District has launched an initiative, “Healthy on Purpose,” to help residents learn the ways public health can help them be purposeful about their healthcare.

“Our goal with the ‘Healthy on Purpose’ initiative is for people to understand public health a little better,” said Dr. Mark Eanes, district health director. “COVID brought public health into the limelight, but we want people to know that, while we are here to respond during a pandemic, we are here every other day as well. Being healthy on purpose for us is helping people figure out what purposeful healthcare means for them, and then figuring out how we can help in that journey.”

What constitutes a healthy life varies from one individual to another, but the health district has myriad programs to help, beginning even before birth.

The Baby LUV/PAT GA Strong Families Healthy Start program’s goal is to prevent premature births and infant deaths by providing education and case management to high-risk pregnant women. 1st Care assists families with premature or low birth weight infants after the infant is discharged from the hospital. Early Hearing Detection and Intervention is a statewide screening and referral system that ensures all Georgia newborns are screened for hearing loss at birth before discharge from the hospital.

The care for children doesn’t stop there. The car seat program helps provide low-income families with child safety seats. Babies Can’t Wait and Children 1st serve children who have or are at risk of significant developmental delays or poor health or development. Children’s Medical Services provides medical care for disabling conditions or chronic disease in children from birth to age 21.

The Women’s, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is a supplemental nutrition program available to infants, children to age 5, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and postpartum women.

An extremely important part of being “Healthy on Purpose” is immunizations. By following regular, routine vaccination schedules, individuals not only protect themselves but also the entire community by minimizing the spread of preventable illnesses.

The Women’s Health program offers family planning services including gynecological exams, pregnancy testing, birth control, counseling and breast and cervical cancer screening through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP).

With STD checks, environmental health services, public health emergency response to chronic disease prevention, infectious disease treatment and prevention, oral health, opioid prevention, birth and death certificates, and much more, public health is here to help all area residents live their healthiest life.

To learn more about being “Healthy on Purpose” visit www.southhealthdistrict.com/HOP.