May 12, 2016

INTERIM STATE SURGEON GENERAL ATTENDS NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM MEETING AS PART OF STATEWIDE TOUR

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Tallahassee, Fla.—Interim State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip attended the North Central Florida Consortium quarterly meeting today in Gainesville as part of her ongoing statewide tour to meet with local leaders about public health priorities. During the meeting, Dr. Philip heard from health officers from 11 counties in the region and discussed the department’s local, regional and statewide objectives.

“In this region of the state we have many small counties and I was impressed with their willingness to help each other manage large projects and strategic goals,” said Interim State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip. “We are proud of how our departments in Clay and Putnam Counties handled recent emergency situations that occurred near their locations. This also highlighted the importance of reviewing existing processes and we will incorporate what we’ve learned from this experience to strengthen our ability to keep our clients and employees safe.”

“It was an honor to have Dr. Philip participate in our overview today on health and local priorities in the North Central region of Florida,” said Health Officer for Marion County Erin Hess. “We look forward to continued open dialogue with Dr. Philip on our future county health objectives.”

“It was a pleasure for us to host Dr. Philip today at our quarterly meeting for the North Central counties,” said Health Officer for Columbia and Hamilton Counties Mark Lander. “These meetings allow counties from the region to share information and learn about new opportunities for collaboration, so having our Interim State Surgeon General there was invaluable.”

The goal of Dr. Philip’s statewide 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. The 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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