Office of the Director
Personal Health Services
Personal Health Services (PHS) strives to provide high quality, personal preventive and primary care services to the diverse clients who live, work and play in DeKalb County. Personal health services are offered at six health centers: South DeKalb Health Center, Kirkwood Health Center, North DeKalb Health Center, East DeKalb Health Center, Vinson Health Center and Richardson Health Center. These centers, by virtue of their geographic location, ensure that all parts of the county have convenient access to the care and services we provide. Each health center’s director is responsible for the daily operations of the center.
Fees are charged for most clinic services; however, the Board of Health will not deny service to anyone because of their inability to pay. Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurance are accepted.
The services we provide fall within three broad categories: clinical care, outreach and case management.
Clinical Care Services
Our clinical care services include a myriad of programs and activities aimed at improving the health status of the population we serve. Within the health centers, clients can receive immunizations, dental services, nutrition education and counseling, family planning and pregnancy prevention services, and primary care services.
We have strategic partnerships with three major healthcare systems in the Atlanta area: Grady Health System, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Promina Health System’s DeKalb Medical Center. These partnerships, developed to meet our clients’ need for primary care, help create a continuum of preventive and primary care services within the Board of Health service delivery system. This “one-stop shopping” model has been well received by both our clients and fellow providers.
Adult Services
The adult services include testing for sexually transmitted diseases; contraceptive, family planning and gynecological services; pregnancy testing, counseling and referrals; cancer screening for women; hypertension screening, medication management and counseling; adult immunizations; and travel counseling and prevention management. In addition, obstetric and adult medicine services are offered through partnership agreements in place at some health centers.
Children’s Services
Our services for children include early and periodic screening exams, dental services, routine immunizations, and hearing and vision testing. We also offer pediatric primary care services through the partnership agreements at all health centers. Preventive health counseling is offered to all children and parents as part of routine services.
Other Services
Other clinical service areas include Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services, refugee services, tuberculosis program, occupational health program, sexually transmitted disease (STD) program and dental screenings and treatment.
Outreach
Personal Health Services offers a wide range of outreach services. Many of the programs and services are developed in conjunction with families, schools, communities and other public and private organizations. Outreach settings include homes, schools, senior centers, day care centers, churches, recreation centers, shopping malls and community facilities. The Adolescent Health and Youth Development program is one successful example of the benefits of collaborating with communities. Three health centers are affiliated with off-site Teen Centers that offer preventive and primary care services and various youth development activities during non-traditional hours.
Providing public health services within schools is another major outreach effort we support. We offer immunizations and hearing, vision and dental screenings within schools. Our public health nurses continually seek to identify actions we can take to improve the health status of school-age children in DeKalb County.
Case Management
The Perinatal Case Management program helps pregnant women maximize their chances for having healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Expectant women and their families receive individual assessments and follow-up throughout the pregnancy. The emphasis is on linking pregnant women with prenatal care and other needed medical and social services.
The Children with Special Needs program serves children who have medical or developmental conditions that require ongoing treatment and case management. Children with Special Needs is comprised of two parts.
First, Babies Can’t Wait provides case management and services to infants and toddlers who have a medically established risk for developmental delay and to those who are found to have delays. The program offers up to 16 different services to families based on the individual needs of the child. Babies Can’t Wait was created by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act which also provides special education services in schools.
Second, Children’s Medical Services provides services to children birth to age 21 who have chronic medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, diabetes, cardiac conditions, genetic disorders and permanent hearing and vision problems. The program provides family case management and, when no other resource is available, financial support.