Latest news with #FultonCountyBoardofHealth
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Laid-off Fulton County Board of Health worker fears cuts to HIV prevention services
Health workers held an emergency town hall meeting Wednesday to plan ways to better provide services for those living with HIV and aids after layoffs at the Fulton County Board of Health. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Damaris Henderson said she never saw it coming. 'I received a random call,' Henderson told Channel 2's Audrey Washington. 'This is a community that I've been serving for over 20 years.' This month, Henderson, along with 16 other health workers, was laid off from the Fulton County Board of Health. Henderson worked in sex education for the board of health. She said she is now concerned about how a reduction in sexual health staff might impact HIV prevention services. 'People need to be educated on why we test, how often you test,' Henderson said. TRENDING STORIES: Best friend among 3 charged in Gwinnett murder after victim shot 14 times Former DeKalb officer takes plea in killing of unarmed, naked Black man 10 years ago Kool & the Gang member dies in car crash in Mableton According to Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton Counties were among 15 counties in the nation with the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses in 2022. 'Of our new HIV diagnosis, we are third in the nation,' public health activist Daniel Driffin said. In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, a Department of Health spokesperson wrote: The actions taken by the Fulton County Board of Health (FCBOH) on Monday, May 19, 2025, were done without the prior knowledge or approval of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). DPH is reviewing the actions taken by FCBOH and has placed two executive leaders on unpaid administrative leave. The FCBOH's actions included a reduction in force of 17 staff members. FCBOH emphasizes there is no disruption in HIV, STI, and TB clinical services because of these actions. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Wednesday health advocates held an emergency town hall meeting in southwest Atlanta to discuss the best strategies to ensure access to services like testing and drugs that can prevent infection. 'Prioritizing what services we need to shore up. That's testing, that's linkages, that's ensure individuals have access to medications,' Driffin said.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hookah, Cigarillos May Be Raising Lung Cancer Rates for Fulton's Black Men
The popularity of hookah lounges, cigar bars, and recreational marijuana may be contributing to higher rates of lung cancer among Black men living in Fulton County, according to recent research outlined by the county's board of health. Panelists at the Fulton County Board of Health's 'State of Healthcare for African Americans' town hall said on Monday that a higher rate of lung cancer exists among Black men in the region, despite smoking rates often being equal to or lower than that of other racial groups. 'There's something about African Americans that [is] making them more susceptible to the bad effects of tobacco smoke,' Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority board trustee Alicia M. Ivey told attendees at the event, which took place at Fulton's South Services Center in College Park. Dr. Eric L. Flenaugh, a pulmonary medicine expert with Grady Memorial Hospital and the Morehouse School of Medicine, cited research indicating the rate of lung cancer among African American men in Fulton County (74 per 100,000) is about 10 points higher than it is for white men (64 per 100,000), even though both demographics smoke at roughly the same rates (23% versus 25%, respectively). Flenaugh says Native American men who live in the county smoke at much higher rates (44%) than Black men, but are less likely to get lung cancer. 'It's not just race when we talk about health disparities,' Flenaugh said. 'It's an imbalance between people's health and what they know about their health and what they do with their health and the health care that's available to them or what they seek out.' The city of Atlanta banned smoking at most public venues in 2020 to help curb growing local respiratory health disparities. But it's allowed in establishments that promote smoking as a form of entertainment, such as hookah lounges and cigar bars, which have become more ubiquitous in Fulton County in recent years. The Atlanta metro area had the 67th worst level of ozone pollution in the nation last year, according to an American Lung Association report released in April that said Fulton — a majority-Black county — was the worst offender in the region for cancer-causing air particle pollution. Dr. Lynn Paxton, health director for the Fulton Health District, said the disparities in lung cancer rates among Black Fulton County residents could possibly be attributed to the popularity of products that rival cigarettes in adverse health effects, including hookah, Black and Mild cigarillos, and other cigars. One Black and Mild has the same nicotine content as about 12.5 cigarettes, according to Flenaugh, who said smoking one full-sized cigar is the same as an entire pack of cigarettes, if not more. Still, Paxton noted that there's not enough data yet to say conclusively whether hookah use is more likely to cause lung cancer than other tobacco products. Higher rates of smoking marijuana may also be a problem, according to Flenaugh. Research shows Black men smoke marijuana at higher rates than other demographic groups. Some Americans believe smoking marijuana is healthier than cigarettes, but Flenaugh noted research showing heavy marijuana users — those who smoke weed 50 times or more throughout their lives — are twice as likely to develop lung cancer. 'I have patients that do that in a week,' Flenaugh said. 'It's starting to become more acceptable. We want to legalize marijuana, but we gotta realize the impact it has, especially for those populations that are more susceptible to the bad effects of smoking.' Panelists noted that lack of health care access in southern Fulton County, where most Black residents live, may also contribute to higher rates of cancer diagnosis due to lower insurance rates, lack of health care service centers, and overall less cancer screenings in local Black communities. Quitting smoking, exercising, avoiding venues where secondhand smoke is prevalent, and increasing health care access via full Medicaid expansion were some of the proposed policy solutions. The post Hookah, Cigarillos May Be Raising Lung Cancer Rates for Fulton's Black Men appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
