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Greene Publishing, Inc...In January 2007, Governor Charlie Crist appointed
Harvard-educated doctor and published author,
Dr. Ana M. Viamonte Ros, as
the Secretary of the Department of Health.
He also gave her a second
title as Florida's first State Surgeon General (SSG). Dr. Ana Viamonte
Ros, 50, MD, MPH, is now
the chief protector and promoter of public health
in Florida.
"I really will do my very
best in everything I can to be able to provide all Floridians with easily
accessible, affordable and
quality health care," Viamonte Ros said.
Viamonte Ros completed post-graduate residencies at the Mount Sinai Medical
Center
in Miami Beach, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in
Washington, D.C. and Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Crist said that by giving
Viamonte Ros the newly created title of surgeon general, she would be a
"great advocate" on major
issues, especially children's health. More
than three million Florida residents lack health insurance. Childhood
obesity is a
growing problem in Florida and across the country. health
disparity is another focal point.
Viamonte Ros and Deputy
Secretary, Lillian Rivera, RN, PhD, visited Madison County on Tuesday,
November 27, as part of the
FDOH "Three P's Tour," which stands for Prevention, Preparedness and
Personal Responsibility. "I am grateful
for this opportunity
and will work to increase awareness and support of
public health initiatives in our state," said Viamonte Ros. |
"Public
health
programs are instrumental in maintaining a high quality of life for
all Floridians."
After being introduced to the
Madison County Health Department senior leadership, the Secretary toured the
facilities, including
the newly renovated Women's Health Center and the
mobile unit. At 3 p.m. Viamonte Ros participated in the Madison County
Health
Disparity Task Force.
The Disparity Task Force
meeting highlighted a number of success stories, giving the state's top
health official an opportunity to
serve up a number of wee-deserved kudos,
but it also pointed out a number of ongoing challenges. Among those
challenges
demanding immediate attention were AIDS awareness and drug abuse,
especially among those already mired in the debilitating grip of poverty.
Reverend Sim Alexander and
Reverend Robert Holmes join other clergy and agency officials in the group,
while leading their own local
charge for change. Combining their
spiritual love with a mega dose of "somebody's got to it," both have
undertaken the daunting task of
adding drug traffic intervention to an
already full plate.
Viamonte Ros followed the updates
with a very practical inquiry. "Once someone has elected to
walk away from drugs, or perhaps they have simply made the choice to
find help, "Where do they go from there?" We must come up with solutions
through the entire process," she explained.
Everyone in the room agreed.
Infant mortality, AIDS, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, extreme poverty,
unemployment, chronic diseases and obesity
are among the darkest and most
difficult challenges locally, nationally and around the world. In
spite of the uphill climb, the leadership of the Health
Disparity Task Force
will not fail for lack of trying. |
There are a variety of local
and regional health initiatives in the planning stages, and several others
ready to be launched. Kim Barnhill, Administrator
of the
Jefferson/Madison County Health Department, George Hinchliffe, Executive
Director of Health Start and Preston Matthews, Madison/Jefferson
DOH Health
Educator; join Viamonte Ros in the vision for a "fit" Madison County.
Faith-based and minority leadership is critical and central to finding
lasting solutions to the disparity among health and other social issues in
Madison County.
Details of existing, upcoming
and planned health programs will be included in the fourth and final part of
the "Status of Madison Families" series due
out on the newsstands, December
12, 2007.
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