Students in Mercer’s Civic & Community Journalism class reviewed agency websites and information to assess how transparent they are when it comes to making decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent. The students also reviewed each agency’s adherence to Georgia’s open record and open government laws.
The Macon-Bibb County Health Department was established in 1993, and according to its website, its goal is to prevent diseases, promote the awareness of health, and protect the community from health-related threats through training, service, support, and collaboration.
People can find information about essential health tips, such as birth control for teens and adults, health checks for children, and other programs that include access to immunizations and assessments to improve community health on the health department’s website. There is also an emergency preparedness section that gives people access to resources like the Medical Reserve Corps, Regional Health care coalitions, and steps on how families should prepare for natural disaster emergencies.
It serves taxpayers by teaching them how to manage health safety and help raise awareness about the measures on environmental health. The Macon-Bibb County Health Department also manages birth and death records, which is under the vital records tab under the quick links section on the website.
Open Records Compliance
Records that were requested: We requested for the number of influenza cases in Macon-Bibb County for January 2026.
When did you hear back from the agency? We filed a request to the agency on March 30. We heard back from the agency on April 2.
Did the agency request a fee?: The agency did not ask us for a fee.
Describe the response to the ORR request: We were not able to receive our request because Public Information Officer Michael Hokanson told us that the Georgia Department of Health does not record individual flu cases at the state or county level. Hokanson also informed us in his email that the Georgia Department of Health does not classify influenza as one of the illnesses that meets the notifiable disease requirements. However, he did give us a link to the weekly surveillance reports for the number of flu cases in the state of Georgia for the month of January, which includes Macon-Bibb County. We have a link to the report, but the Georgia Department of Health Website says that the page cannot be found.
Assign a grade for contact/process: The agency received an A in this category because Hokanson’s email is easy to access online through the District Health Office Directory, which is a PDF provided by the Georgia Department of Health website that lists the positions of all the people who work for each health district in the state of Georgia. The Georgia Department of Health website has its own direct online portal for submitting an open records request.
Assign a grade for response: The agency also received an A in this category because Hokanson was able to respond within three business days and met the requirements for the Georgia Open Records Act. Mei received the email about our request on April 2, 2026, at 10:41 a.m.
Public Transparency & Accessibility
The Macon-Bibb County Health Department website is easy to access and lists information about essential services that are important for anyone who is a resident or a tourist in the area.
- The Macon-Bibb County Health Department has a public website. The web address is https://northcentralhealthdistrict.org/macon-bibb-county-health-department/
- The Macon-Bibb County Health Department does list out its key staff. Its key staff includes the County Nurse Manager, Dawn Butler, RN, Administrator Dr. Jimmie Smith, Environmental Health County Manager Felicia Pearson-Powell, MS, and the Safe Kids of Central Georgia Coordinator Abbie Price. Dawn Butler: DawnButlerdawn.butler@dph.ga.gov., Jimmie Smith: Jimmie Smith [email protected]. Felecia Pearson-Powell: [email protected]. Abbie Price: abbie.price@dph.ga.gov.
- The Macon-Bibb County Health Department has a public communications officer. His name is Michael Hokanson, and his phone number is 478-972-6062. Email: [email protected]
- The main North Central Health District website does have the current dates and times for meeting with the Board of Health during the fiscal year for 2026-2027. The meeting dates and times for the Macon-Bibb County Health Department are bi-monthly on Mondays at 9 a.m. The upcoming meetings will be June 15, Aug. 17, Oct. 19, and Dec. 7. During these bi-monthly meetings, the Macon Board of Health meets for one hour from 9-10 a.m. at their office to discuss public health matters.
- The Macon-Bibb County Health Department does post the times and locations of the meetings. However, it does not post its meeting agendas online. https://northcentralhealthdistrict.org/events/list/
- The main North Central Health District website has posted the approved meeting minutes for February and March of 2026. https://northcentralhealthdistrict.org/board-of-health/
- The Macon Bibb County Health Department does not have recordings of its meetings on its website. However, it has a Facebook page that gives people tips on how to approach and live a better lifestyle.
- The Macon-Bibb County Health Department only has a Facebook page, and its goal is to provide people with personal health tips and emphasize ways on how citizens should stay safe in Central Georgia.
- The agency does not provide information online for how the public should make an open records request. However, if someone wants to file an open records request, they can use the Georgia Department of Health website to find a medical official who can fulfill their request. We filed our open records request through Mr. Hokanson because he was our direct point of contact. His information, including his email address, is in a PDF titled Georgia Department of Health District Health Office Directory under the District 5-2 Directory.
- The Quick Links section can help people receive links to careers for the North Central Health District, locations of all the health department offices for the North Central District, vital records, women’s health information, and other resources that are essential for getting access to public health in Middle Georgia.
The transparency grade for the Macon-Bibb County Health Department is Satisfactory as the Agency had its meeting times on its website as required by law.
The public accessibility grade for the Macon-Bibb County Health Department is Average because the agency did provide information about the dates and times of each Macon Board of Health meeting and key community events on its website, but it did not provide specific agendas for any of the meetings. The agency also listed out contact information for its team, but did not list out contact information for board members who are involved in the meetings. The Macon-Bibb County Health Department only uses Facebook as a social media platform to provide tips about how to stay safe and protect others in Central Georgia.
