Trauma Care in Georgia: Georgians are Willing to Pay for a Statewide System For the second year, a statewide survey shows that Georgians overwhelmingly favor building a statewide trauma system that would save as many as 700 lives each year – and that they are willing to pay for the system. This issue of HealthVoices summarizes the findings of the December 2007 poll by the Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia which found that two-thirds of Georgians are willing to pay $25 or more a year for a statewide trauma system.

The Follow-Up Report and Trauma Data can be found here. 

OP ED: Trauma care worth it to voters  (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 03/05/08)

Gary D. Nelson, PhD
President
Healthcare Georgia Foundation

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Trauma Care in Georgia: Georgians are Willing to Pay for Statewide System," Healthcare Georgia Foundation,Publication #23, February 2008

Providing home and community-based services (HCBS) to serve the elderly and people with disabilities – now and in the future – is one of the major health and social challenges confronting Georgians. This policy brief summarizes the findings of a review of HCBS in Georgia conducted in 2006 by Ann Rosewater in collaboration with the Georgia State University School of Social Work, with support from Healthcare Georgia Foundation.

The brief identifies important innovations that would enhance access to quality, affordable home and community-based services and contribute to creating a more robust and responsive long-term care system.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Home and Community-based Services: A Robust, Rational and Ready System for Georgians," Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Publication #20, July 2007

Getting the right patient to the right hospital at the right time would save the lives of approximately 700 Georgians each year. Yet, Georgia is served by only 15 trauma centers, with four level one trauma centers located in metropolitan areas, and does not have a comprehensive, coordinated statewide trauma system.

This issue of HealthVoices features the results of a statewide public opinion poll on trauma care conducted in December 2006. The survey, executed on behalf of Healthcare Georgia Foundation by the University of Georgia Survey Research Center found that Georgians overwhelming support the creation and funding of a world-class trauma care system, one that serves both urban and rural areas.

The Summary Tables, Methods and Procedures, and Trauma Data can be found here.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Trauma Care in Georgia: Overburdened Underfunded and Fragmented", The Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia , Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Publication #15, January 2007

The inability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services prevents over 2 million adults in Georgia from taking the right prescription drugs, making doctor's appointments, and completing health insurance forms. This issue of HealthVoices examines the causes and consequences of low health literacy, who is most at risk, and which efforts have been most successful in Georgia.

The brief was prepared by Julie Gazmararian PhD, Kara Jacobson MPH, and David Howard PhD, of the Emory Center on Health Outcomes at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Health Literacy - A Key to Better Health for Georgians", Julie Gazmararian, PhD, Kara Jacobson, MPH, David Howard, Phd, Emory Center on Health Outcomes, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Healthcare Georgia Foundation,Publication #14, January 2007

Georgia is considering changes to the state's Medicaid program that may have significant effects on the availability of affordable, quality health care for low income Georgians. The state is planning to seek a broad waiver of current federal Medicaid regulations, known as a Section 1115 waiver.

This policy brief is designed to serve as a primer for policymakers, community leaders, and health care providers who will be assessing the benefits and costs of changes to Georgia's Medicaid program. It provides basic facts on the Medicaid program, explores key features of Section 1115 waivers and poses questions for policymakers to consider when evaluating proposals to change Georgia's Medicaid program.

The Summary Tables, Methods and Procedures, and data files can found here.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Georgia's Medicaid Program: A Briefing for Community Leaders", Joan Alker, M. Phil, Center for Children and Families, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, Timothy Sweeney, MPA, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Publication #10, May 2005

Georgia's children risk being the first generation to live sicker and die younger than their parents according to a recent study commissioned by Healthcare Georgia Foundation and conducted by the University of Georgia Survey Research Center. In this issue of HealthVoices, we examine the perceptions that Georgia residents have on ways to address childhood overweight and physical inactivity in Georgia. More than half of the survey respondents support several approaches to financing physical education and improved nutrition programs in schools: an earmarked increase in alcohol and tobacco taxes, special 1% sales tax, offering after school programs paid for by parents, and increasing school property taxes.

For more information on Healthcare Georgia Foundation's 2004 Childhood Overweight and Physical Inactivity Survey conducted by the University of Georgia Survey Research Center, please click here.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Addressing Overweight: Let Georgia Lead the Way", The Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Publication #9, April 2005

Georgians and health experts agree - childhood overweight is a serious health problem that demands action. School-based physical activity is one key component in promoting healthy weight in young children. This policy brief from Healthcare Georgia Foundation recommends physical activity in schools, identifies the elements of successful school-based physical activity, and summarizes the science behind these recommendations. The brief was prepared by Policy Leadership for Active Youth (PLAY), a three-year initiative of Georgia State University's Institute of Public Health in partnership with the Georgia Center for Obesity and Related Disorders (GCORD) of the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia. Data from Healthcare Georgia Foundation's statewide public opinion poll on Georgians' views on childhood overweight and physical activity is also featured in the brief.

Supporting documentation for the brief can be found here:

School-based Physical Activity Interventions to Prevent or Treat Childhood Overweight
(A Summary of Research and Findings)

Reference Notes for HealthVoices

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Addressing Overweight: The Role of Physical Activity in Schools", Policy Leadership for Active Youth (PLAY), a three year policy initiative of Georgia State University Institute of Public Health, in partnership with the Georgia Center for Obesity and Related Disorders (GCORD) and the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Publication #7, January 2005

Is a catalyst for better health and health care in Georgia, Healthcare Georgia Foundation helped support an independent economic analysis of the 2003 tobacco tax increase by the Fiscal Research Center (FRC) of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. The analysis shows that the 2003 tax increase, the first in 32 years, will deter Georgians from smoking and will generate substantial revenue for the state. If Georgia enacted an additional tax increase of 21 cents per pack, it would have significant economic and health benefits as well.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Economic and Health Benefits of Tobacco Taxes for Georgians", The Fiscal Research Center in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies of Georgia State University, Healthcare Georgia Foundation,Publication #5, March 2004

In its role as a catalyst for better health and health care, Healthcare Georgia Foundation conducted the 2003 Access to Coverage and Prevention Survey. Twelve hundred Georgians were polled statewide to learn their views on their health care insurance and preventive services along with their willingness to pay for better community health services. The Foundation published the results of the poll in its inaugural issue of HealthVoices - a publication intended to be an educational service to Georgians interested in health policy.

The Questionnaire, Methods and Data Tables can be found here.

Recommended Citation: HealthVoices: "Georgians Speak Out on Health Care and Prevention", The Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Publication #4, November 2003