Greetings from the State Office of Vital Records,

As we look ahead to the new year and everything 2022 may bring, it is also important to make sure we complete all our duties from the previous year. Over the next few months, important work must still be done to ensure that every vital record from 2021 has been completed. That means ensuring a birth record has been registered for every child born in Georgia, that a complete and accurate death certificate is available for everyone died in Georgia, and all fetal deaths, marriages, divorces, and induced terminations of pregnancy have been accounted for. In the coming weeks and months our staff at the State Office of Vital Records may contact you to request updates, verify information, and confirm the data received for 2021 are complete and accurate. Please assist them in this work by answering any questions they may have, and by reviewing and completing any unresolved records in your possession. This will help ensure we have complete and accurate data for local, state, and national statistics, and that our constituents will have access to their vital records in the future, whenever they may need them.

In 2022, we look forward to continuing our work to improve GAVERS and our operations. We have identified contractors who will help us to train more physicians to certify death records electronically. Work is underway to develop several new GAVERS features to improve the system, and we look forward to bringing those to you later this year.

Thank you for all you do to support Vital Records and the people of Georgia!

Chris Harrison

State Registrar & Deputy Director

Be sure to take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid each day. (Folic acid is a vitamin that every cell in your body needs for healthy growth and development.)

• One in every 33 babies in the U.S. is born with a birth defect.

• Birth defects are a leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S., accounting for 1 in 5 infant deaths.

• In the U.S. each year, the total costs for hospital care of children with birth defects exceed $2.6 billion.

• Babies who survive and live with birth defects are at increased risk for many lifelong physical, cognitive, and social challenges

Overall there were 32 facilities that earned perfect scores in November. The following are the top birth facilities based on timeliness and data quality score, grouped by the number of births registered during the month. To earn perfect score for the month a facility must have missing/unknown data at or below the expected levels, and at least 95% of records filed within 5 days.

Visit Georgia's General Assembly website to access the Georgia Code. Once there, double click Georgia Code on the left-hand menu from the top. Follow the prompts and scroll down to "Title 31 Health", check the box beside it and select "Chapter 10 Vital Records". Here you will find the Georgia Code. All updates will be made to this site.

Visit the Secretary of State's Office website to access Georgia Rules and Regulations for Vital Records. Enter your first and last name. Enter the correct answer for the human verification. Click agree and you will automatically be redirected to the Rules and Regulations for the State of Georgia. Scroll down and click on "Department 511. Rules of Georgia Department of Public Health". Select "Chapter 511-1 Administration" and click on "511-1-3. Vital Records" to gain access to the Rules and Regulations.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The “Vital Connection” is a production of the Compliance & Communications Unit.