TIFTON — Access to health care and health resources is critical for all individuals to reach their highest health quality possible.

In an effort to continue the push for health equity, Georgia Department of Public Health’s South Health District in conjunction with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, hosted a Health Equity Summit on April 17 at the ABAC campus.

The event brought together experts in the field of public health, epidemiology and health policy and focused on the importance of health equity and the steps communities and individuals can take to improve health equity, health officials said in a statement.

“We are incredibly thankful for everyone that attended the summit,” said Ambreshia Allen, B.S., MPA health equity navigator. “Health equity affects everyone and we hope that this summit helped shine a light on the ways we can all work to improve health equity.”

Throughout the event, community health care partners had booths set up offering education and information about their services.

The keynote speakers for the summit were Dr. Nandi A. Marshall, associate dean for academic affairs, Dr. Guizar Shah, department chair of Health Policy and Community Health Department, and Dr. Kristie Waterfield, assistant professor of health administration, informatics and policy, all with Georgia Southern University.

Breakout sessions were offered throughout the day. Presenters included Rana Bayakly, chief epidemiologist, chronic disease at the Georgia Department of Public Health, Clarissa Alderman, licensed professional counselor and owner of Family Insight, Ky Lindberg, chief executive officer for Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia, Dr. Adrian Israel Martinez-Franco, department head of Rural Studies ABAC; Amanda Mohammed, MPH, program coordinator for the Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response Emory University, Dr. Stacy Smallwood, associate professor of health policy and community health at Georgia Southern University.

Breakout sessions focused on topics such as chronic disease and its effect on health equity, addressing the dire mental health needs in our communities, culturally reflective care coordination improved maternal and infant health outcomes, incorporating equitable approaches in all-hazards preparedness for community resiliency, trustable sources of health information and the aftereffects of COVID-19.