Tuesday, January 26, 2010

First Week on the Job

Trying to figure out the mechanics of a county health system is a hard job. There are many different layers and issues. Like many of the counties that we discussed in class, Jackson residents seem to head to Athens to get much of their health care.

Th county is not very diverse as far as race. The extension agent said plainly, "Jackson is very white." However, there are disparities in health indicators and health care among the minority groups. The diversity lies in the geography and economy. Jefferson, the county seat, is small and surrounded by horse farms, cattle land and small poultry farms. The towns closer to I-85 have a different feel. More suburbanized. Wanda Mcklocklin, the 4-H director, told me that many kids from areas like Brasselton didn't even know of Jefferson. They are more tied in with the Atlanta suburban economy.

A big obvious issue seems to be teen pregnancy. She told me, mistakenly according to stats, that Jackson had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state. Although not true according to fact, it is high and is something on the mind of the public. They also have a very high drop-out rate, which is probably connected to teen pregnancy. I will be attending a meeting on Thursday by a group called Parent Connection, and will hopefully learn more about this and hear some first-hand accounts. I read several journal articles talking about the success of early prevention programs in preventing high-risk behavior such as teen pregnancy. Jackson does not have an early prevention program called Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP). I will be interested to find out what the schools are doing.