Medical / Health

Medical Kiosks

In October, 2010, Early County became the initial test site for an innovative health assessment kiosk, called the Personal Health Advisor (PHA). The kiosk, a health information delivery platform, was developed collaboratively by the National Health Museum (NHM) and the Georgia Department of Community Health (GDCH). The Kiosk educates users about health issues such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, immunizations and sexual health.   It provides users with risk results for certain conditions and associated tips and resources for healthy living.

An example of Best Practices. The National Health Museum anticipates that the pilot project in Early County will serve as a model program and will establish best practices for replication in other communities across the state of Georgia and nationwide.  

The kiosk is located at the Primary Care of Southwest Georgia Clinic in Blakely, and also travels to other locations around Early County, including other health facilities, the library, and community-wide event locations.

The chairman of the National Health Museum supports Early County. Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, National Health Museum chairman and renowned health care expert, was instrumental in partnering with the DCH to bring the kiosk technology to Early County.  Dr. Sullivan, former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George Bush, Sr., and founding dean and president of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, grew up in Blakely and Early County.  His lifetime goal focuses on improving the health of Americans through literacy and behavior, and addressing health disparities across the country.

Because health care is fundamental for economic development and quality of life, EC2055 and the Rice Foundation also supported the DCH and NHM effort with a matching grant.