Menu Display

View Press Release Portlet

GWINNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ROUNDUP

(Lawrenceville, Ga., May 22, 2025) – The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved several items during its May 20 meeting focused on public safety, community health and youth services. Highlights include the retirement of a beloved K9, contracts for chronic care providers and a mobile eye care initiative for students.


K9 Jestina medically retired

K9 Jestina, a narcotics detection dog with the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, has been medically retired. She joined the agency in Aug. 2022 and partnered with Deputy Sheriff Master David Wood to detect and deter contraband within the Gwinnett County Detention Center.

During her tenure, Jestina was dispatched nearly 1,500 times and helped confiscate more than a dozen illegal items. Her retirement was prompted by anxiety-related health issues that worsened after an October 2024 active shooter incident at the Gwinnett County Detention Center. Due to the nature of her work, medical therapy was not an option and her veterinarian recommended retirement.

She has been removed from the County’s Fixed Asset Registry and will remain in the care of Deputy Wood.

 

County invests $550,000 in chronic care

To reduce the burden on emergency services and local hospitals, the County will contract with three community health providers to deliver chronic care services in 2025:

  • Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett: $300,000 for primary care and chronic disease management
  • Hope Clinic Inc.: $205,000 for coordinated care for individuals with chronic conditions
  • Behavioral Health of Georgia: $45,000 to expand integrated behavioral health services

These providers are expected to serve more than 9,700 residents through accessible, preventive care.

 

Free eye care for underserved kids

Gwinnett will launch a new partnership with Vision to Learn to provide free vision screenings, exams and
prescription glasses to children in underserved areas. The mobile program will roll out in July and aims to serve more than 590 students by year’s end.

This initiative is part of the 2025 budget and will help remove vision-related barriers to learning for school-aged children across the County.

 

Note: Agenda Package and video from the Board of Commissioners May 20 meeting are available online.    

Back to previous page