Registration is now fully booked for the 94th GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference, May 1-3, 2024 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center on beautiful Jekyll Island!
This year’s theme is “Lighting the Way to a Healthier Georgia.” The GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference is the state’s largest public health gathering of students, public health employees and community partners of public health.
We’ll have great speakers, informative and educational workshops, and plenty of time for networking and fun. We look forward to spending three days with you on gorgeous Jekyll Island as we strengthen relationships with other public health advocates and gain knowledge and skills to take back to our own workplaces.
Anyone who needs to register as a presenter/speaker, moderator, poster presenter, panelist or for one day registration only, should contact patrina@gapha.org.
View Conference Program
Pre-Conference Workshops
GPHA is excited to offer three pre-conference workshops. Each workshop will be held the morning of May 1, 2024. The fee for attendance is $20 each.
Workshop 1: Public Health Informatics & the Tools to Visualize Your Data
Host: Epidemiology Section | Fee: $20
Presenters: Amber Erickson, DrPH, MPH; Allison Chamberlain, PhD, MS; Ramona Barnet, MPH
This pre-conference session is the first in a series of three annual pre-conference workshops focused on expanding practitioners’ knowledge of and skills in infectious disease analytics and modeling. Featured speakers will introduce informatics concepts and demonstrate tools such as Microsoft Power Apps and Tableau used in this work. This 2024 workshop is ideal for Epidemiologists, District and State Program Managers, IT, Environmental Health, District Health Directors, Academics.
Workshop 2: Friday Night at the ER Simulation Workshop: Systems Thinking for Healthcare and Public Health
Host: Academic Section | Fee: $20
Presenter: Linda Kimsey, PhD
Maintaining the health of the public is becoming increasingly complex. Complex situations require leaders and managers to employ systems thinking to ensure optimal organizational performance. Friday Night at the ER is a board game simulation that puts participants in charge of departments within a hospital for 24 hours on a Friday night – often the busiest time for an Emergency Room. During the fast-paced game, participants must make decisions to manage patient flow through key departments in the hospital. In the debrief, participants learn the concepts of systems thinking and how to improve management decisions. While set in a hospital, the simulation is relevant in any work setting, and particularly relevant in public health workplaces.
Workshop 3: Mindful Exercise: Practice and Understanding of the Physiology, Psychology, and Benefits for Rural Populations
Host: Rural Health and Primary Care Section | Fee: $20
Presenter: P. Anthony Gryffin, PhD
An insightful overview and experience of new research in the area of mindful exercise related to the practice of tai chi, from an evidence-based perspective of the physiological and psychological mechanisms of action. The workshop includes aspects of mindfulness as a powerful tool for motivating health action; relevance to self-awareness and self-sabotage; as well as diffusion of innovation theory related to rural health motivation.
Plenary Speakers
We’re excited to present our plenary speakers for the 94th GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference!
Dr. M. Daniele Fallin, Dean of Public Health at Emory University
Fallin is the James W. Curran Dean of Public Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. With more than 250 scientific publications that have been cited more than 22,000 times, Fallin’s globally-recognized research focuses on applying genetic epidemiology methods to studies of neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder and to developing applications and methods for genetic and epigenetic epidemiology, as applied to mental health and development.
Justice Verda M. Colvin of the Georgia Supreme Court
Justice Colvin was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court by Governor Brian Kemp on July 29, 2021 after having been appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals by Governor Kemp on April 9, 2020. She is the first African-American female appointed by a Republican Governor. She previously served as a Superior Court Judge in the Macon Judicial Circuit which serves Macon Bibb, Crawford and Peach Counties having been appointed by Governor Nathan Deal on April 16, 2014.
Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, FAPA
Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA is the CEO and Co-Founder of eMed, a digital healthcare company. She is a board-certified psychiatrist from Atlanta and has diverse experience as a private practicing physician, county public health director and patient advocate. She has deep experience and expertise in public policy on both legislative and regulatory fronts and at all levels of government. Dr. Harris was the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman elected to that position. She is a visiting professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and serves as Chief Health and Medical Editor of Everydayhealth.com.
Medicine (CME) Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Georgia Public Health Association. The APHA is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Designation Statement: The APHA designates this live educational activity for a maximum of 14.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit (s)™.
Nursing (CNE) Accreditation Statement
This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the American Public Health Association’s Public Health Nursing Section Approver Unit, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Health Education (CHES) Statement
Sponsored by the American Public Health Association (APHA), a designated approver of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) to receive up to 14.5 total Category I contact education contact hours.