Special to the Herald

ATLANTA – Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Kathleen Toomey didn’t want to talk about COVID-19 anymore. The respiratory disease and resulting pandemic dominated her previous Effingham Day at the Capitol presentations in the James H. “Sloppy” Floyd Building.

“We want to look forward,” Toomey said while recalling a chat with Rep. Bill Hitchens about her invitation to speak at the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce event. “What are we looking forward to in the state?”

Toomey, appointed to head DPH by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, oversees 159 county health departments in 18 health districts, plus various public health programs.

“Please. Send me your ideas,” she said after praising Georgia’s government and business leaders for working together to combat COVID-19 through education and outreach programs.

Toomey believes additional public-private partnerships designed to improve wellness, prevent diabetes and enhance the health of mothers and their babies would boost economic development in the state.

“It just makes so much sense,” she said. “We saw how effective it was (during the pandemic). Let me know what you think.

“We will start our partnership in Effingham because I believe that’s where we can get some things done.”

Email Toomey at Kathleen.Toomey@dph.ga.gov.