April 21, 2016

INTERIM STATE SURGEON GENERAL CONTINUES TOUR WITH COALITION MEETING IN VIERA

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Tallahassee, Fla.—Interim State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip continued her statewide tour today to gather feedback on public health priorities by attending the Central Florida Coalition Meeting at the Brevard County Health Department in Viera. The coalition is a regional meeting for local health leaders to discuss updates and county health agendas.

“Today in Viera we had another wonderful meeting with our department’s local health leaders. I continue to receive great feedback from members of our team, and I look forward to our future conversations,” said Interim State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip. “There are unique environmental challenges in this region of the state and this was an opportunity to highlight the importance of collaboration with other state and local agencies to address these complex issues as we did in Cocoa recently. We also discussed a novel idea to better coordinate public health services for families with other agencies which sounds very promising.”

“We were honored to have our Interim State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip join us for today’s coalition meeting,” said Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health in Lake County Aaron Kissler. “It was a great opportunity to ask questions, give feedback on county efforts and focus on prominent health issues in our state.”

“Regional coalition meetings are an important part of improving public health throughout the state,” said Health Officer for the Florida Department of Health in Martin County Karlette Peck. “We are able to coordinate and collaborate with our counterparts in other areas, and it was a welcome highlight to be able to include Dr. Philip in today’s assembly.”

The goal of the tour is to identify opportunities in Florida’s 67 counties to improve and collaborate on for the new State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). The department is currently leading a multi-agency statewide effort to develop Florida’s SHIP for 2017-2020. This SHIP will provide the blueprint for effective, targeted and integrated action to improve the health of Floridians. Together with community partners, the department is currently gathering input to identify key health-related concerns facing the state and conducting a thorough analysis of factors that will help pinpoint the most important health issues for Florida.

Dr. Philip will wrap up her tour in mid-May and will share highlights along the away on the department’s Twitter and Facebook platforms using hashtag #FLHealthSHIP. 

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