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3 0 MACONMAGAZINE.COM | D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 the best bang out of the buck that we do have. HOW COULD MACON HELP YOU AND THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR WORK? Macon already has helped us acquire a new home with the SPLOST fund. Thank you. Macon can continue to help us by talking about us and visiting us. If you have a good experience at the health department, tell your friends and family. If you have a bad experience, provide us with feedback. Help us be better. WHAT ARE THREE QUALITIES THAT GOT YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? Being fair: Folks may not always be happy with your decisions, but they are more accepting of them if they understand the same opportunity/ consequence applies to everyone. Honoring my word: People won't want to collaborate or do business with you if your word isn't worth anything. Remembering who we serve: I tell my coworkers, we all have the same boss. It's the residents of this county who rely on us. Is what we're doing now what's best for them? TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE AT THE MACON-BIBB COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: The health department has a huge responsibility: we see everyone. Whether they can pay or not, that doesn't stop us from giving them the care they need. Because we don't run as your typical private practice would, the state gives us money so that we can accomplish our mission of serving all of our community. With that money comes deliverables and guidelines. Part of my role is to make sure we provide the deliverables and adhere to the guidelines so that we can continue to serve our residents. My medical license is used to provide patients with prescriptions for conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Our nurses operate on clinical protocols, and are among the best trained nurses in the state. WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT? My vision has to align with the wants of the community, as the health department belongs to the community. The community has informed us that they want high quality care, provided in an expedient manner, in a welcoming setting. We are striving to achieve those standards on a daily basis. GET TO KNOW DR. RENÉE HAYNES, DISTRICT HEALTH DIRECTOR FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL HEALTH DISTRICT DR. RENEE HAYNES has been serving Macon-Bibb County as the district health director for just more than a year. Pursuing degrees in public health and medicine, she grew up in Miami and then got her undergraduate degree from Duke University. After that came a master's in public health from Florida International University, medical school and a fellowship at Morehouse School of Medicine, and residency at the University of South Florida. As she says, she's been in school "for a very long time, but it's okay because I love learning." Learn more about this dynamic, straight-shooter in this abbreviated QA, and read the full interview at maconmagazine.com. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT MACON TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIVE HERE, WHAT DO YOU TELL THEM? I tell them how I feel about Macon. I love it here. Macon has everything I want. My neighbor asks me how I'm doing and checks in on me. The food makes me dance while I eat (folks tease me about that). Amerson River Park lets me walk by the water. And the library is beautiful with friendly staff. IF YOU COULD ISSUE A CHALLENGE TO MACON-BIBB, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Love yourself and love your neighbor. Do the things that nourish your soul, body and community. WHAT IS HOLDING MACON BACK FROM BEING A STRONGER CITY? Poverty. Over a quarter of our county lives in poverty. What's worse is about 40 percent of our children live in poverty. Being strong takes a lot of resources. When you're impoverished, you're struggling for resources. The odds are stacked against you. HOW COULD WE BETTER SERVE OUR RESIDENTS? By reflecting on how we can best use the resources that we have. We might not have as much as others, but we are responsible for getting LOCAL BUZZ