Reinvest, rebuild  
 

Public health touches the lives of every Georgian. Georgians expect and deserve a better public health system… a system that can save lives and save money.

It’s time to re-invest in and rebuild Georgia’s public health system. That calls for:

Increasing funding, including funding for the implementation of health information technology in health departments;

Investing in prevention programs that help change behaviors that can lead to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, teen pregnancy and infectious diseases. An investment of $10 per person per year in programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking and other tobacco use could save the state more than $426 million annually within five years – a return of $4.77 for every $1 according to the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI).

Filling vacant positions and making salaries competitive;

Ensuring that Medicaid is doing everything possible to support public health;

Modernizing a grant-in-aid formula that has been frozen since 1970; and,

Establishing a broad-based study committee of business, government, public health and community stakeholders to assess the status of public health in Georgia and chart a course for upgrading the system in 2011 and beyond.

Together, we can do better.

Join business, government and health leaders and let our lawmakers know you want them to re-invest in and rebuild our public health system.