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Keeping Newton informed
Local health specialist educates, helps compile data on community’s needs
By TOM SPIGOLON
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tspigolon@covnews.com
DaShe’ McMillian is a public health specialist and knows about the health dangers of COVID-19.
But she also knows about the long-term dangers of other health dangers — everything from diabetes to tobacco use — and teaches them to young and old alike in Newton County.
McMillian is lead community health educator for Newton County for the Gwinnett-Newton-Rockdale Health Departments.
Her job is to tell seniors about proper nutrition, or make sure people know how to lower infant mortality rates, or teach young people about the hazards of drug
use.
McMillian’s work takes her “in the trenches” — to such areas as schools, housing projects and civic clubs.
It even took her to Georgia State University’s Newton campus in 2018 where she helped health sciences students collect data about food pantries, food “deserts,” teacher and staff mental health and adolescent health.
Their collected survey data became part of Newton County health department’s 2019 Community Assessment Report, which is compiled every five years.
McMillian said she works with community partners like Willing Helpers Clinic, which is
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She also makes herself available to senior care facilities or locations where seniors meet, such as the county senior center.
Many community organizations use grant funds to do their work, she said.
“The goal is to work together just to improve the community’s health,” McMillian said. “We’ve got a pretty good network now.”
The Community Assessment is designed to help residents “see how their community is doing health-wise,” she said.
She said participants from each of 10 essential public health services identified health priorities on which there was a need to focus in Newton County.
Priorities they identified included: • Lack of access to care, including a few primary care and specialty physicians; lack of public transportation; and a large number of uninsured and underinsured; • Chronic illness prevention and management, including diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, stroke and cancer; • Mental health and substance abuse, such as suicide, opiates and heroin; • Adolescent lifestyle choices, including tobacco, alcohol, substance abuse, and STDs; • Quality of life and lifestyle, including obesity, tobacco use, and motor vehicle safety; • Senior health.
Top community governmental of institutional leaders separately discussed a variety of public health-related topics, including quality of life and a five-year vision for Newton County.
Common areas in need of improvement mentioned by two or more key stakeholders were physical health wellness and obesity, mental health care and services, poverty and food deserts in the county, the further development of the Newton trail system, the need for more sidewalks, improvement of transportation services, increasing availability of communication services, improving seniors’ quality of care and way of life and pushing for more collaborations with organizations in the community. Health concerns were mental health awareness, obesity and underinsured and uninsured in the community.
The report stated that many key stakeholders mentioned mental health could worsen in the next five years if not addressed “and likewise obesity could increase due to bad eating behaviors and sedentary lifestyles in the population of Newton County.”
“They also mentioned the growing senior population in Newton County and providing more services for this population.”
Chad Wasdin, a spokesman for the health departments, said his agency has plans to make community health statistics more easily accessible online for the public.
For example, if a person wants to know information about diabetes, the data could be downloaded, he said.
“We want to be a conduit for the community,” he said.
DaShe’ McMillian is lead community educator for Newton County for the Gwinnett, Newton, Rockdale Health Departments. (Special to The News)
