The Georgia Commission on Women was created in 1992 by the Georgia General Assembly and Governor Zell Miller to monitor the status, rights, and opportunities of women in Georgia. As the situation for Georgia women has changed over the past three decades, we have adapted our focus to meet the needs of the day. Currently, our efforts are centered around three main pillars—human trafficking, maternal mortality, and women’s health—and we partner with other government agencies and organizations across the state to address these issues. Our overarching goal is to continue to advocate for a Georgia where women can thrive.

The Georgia Commission on Women will present their Annual Georgia Wellness Summit virtually on Friday, June 10 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Created to inform and foster conversations about the latest health topics impacting women, the event brings together experts from medicine, policy, education and more to share information and form meaningful connections. The event is free and open to the public and will provide 20 continuing education credits for healthcare professionals. For more information about the Georgia Commission on Women or the Georgia Wellness Summit please visit www.gacommissiononwomen.org, and follow on Facebook www.facebook.com/gacommissiononwomen

This year a momentous bill was passed, HB1013 Mental Health Parity. The Mental Health Parity Act will help Georgians access affordable mental health and substance use disorder treatment for themselves and their children by ensuring that public and private health insurance plans cover behavioral health equitably with physical health. The next presentation discussed the work that went into getting the bill passed and how this new act will help all Georgians.

2022 Georgia Wellness Summit Speaker: Supriya Mannepalli, MD, Medical Director of Infectious Diseases, Northeast Georgia Physicians Group

2022 Georgia Wellness Summit Speakers: Tamara Thompson DNP, MPH, MA, MSN, MS, APRN Assistant Professor Clayton State University School of Nursing Shelly Anne Johnson, LCSW

2022 Georgia Wellness Summit Speaker: Dr. Danielle McCamey

2022 Georgia Nurses Association Speaker: Richard Lamphier, President, Georgia Nurses Association

Our first speaker Bhavini Solanki is the lead for the Georgia Families 360° program for Amerigroup Community Care, a managed care organization that has been serving Georgia families since 2006, and currently provides services to almost 600,000 members who participate in Georgia’s Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids, Planning for Healthy Babies, and Georgia Families 360° programs. Today she will be discussing how to be Brave About Mental Health.