May 12, 2016

DR. PHILIP CONTINUES HEALTH DISCUSSIONS WITH VISIT TO NORTHEAST FLORIDA CONSORTIUM

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Tallahassee, Fla.—Interim State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. Celeste Philip today continued her listening tour in St. Johns County where she attended the Northeast Florida Consortium quarterly meeting. Dr. Philip met with local health staff from nine counties in the region about local, regional and statewide priorities for the department.

“Today we brainstormed about better utilization of medical reserve corps volunteers where we could put their skills to work in fighting Zika as well as more common public health functions such as administration of immunizations,” said Interim State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. Celeste Philip. “We also discussed ways to better leverage the expertise of our Healthy Start Coalitions to improve maternal and child health outcomes, such as reducing infant mortality across racial and ethnic groups.”

“Our quarterly consortium meetings give the counties in our region the opportunity to share information and identify ways we can work together to improve health outcomes in our area,” said Health Officer for Duval County Dr. Kelli Wells. “We are grateful Dr. Philip joined us to learn about the issues affecting our region and to share the department’s vision and focus for the future.”

Health Officer for St. Johns County Dr. Dawn Allicock said, “We were excited to hear about the current initiatives of the Department of Health for improving the health of the residents and visitors to Northeast Florida, and to share with Dr. Philip the great achievements the local public health system has made in St. Johns County.”

The goal of Dr. Philip’s statewide tour is to identify opportunities in Florida’s 67 counties to improve and collaborate on for the new State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). The department is currently leading a multi-agency statewide effort to develop Florida’s SHIP for 2017-2020. The SHIP will provide the blueprint for effective, targeted and integrated action to improve the health of Floridians. Together with community partners, the department is currently gathering input to identify key health-related concerns facing the state and conducting a thorough analysis of factors that will help pinpoint the most important health issues for Florida.

Dr. Philip will wrap up her tour in mid-May and will share highlights along the away on the department’s Twitter and Facebook platforms using hashtag #FLHealthSHIP. 

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