Cara M. Christ

/Cara Christ

About Cara Christ

Cara M. Christ, MD, Director Arizona Department of Health Services

Learn about the Myths about Rabies in the Superstitions this Weekend

By | March 6th, 2018|Preparedness|

On Saturday, March 10, ADHS will join with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Department of Agriculture, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Pinal County Public Health Services District, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, and Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine to host “Madness in the Mountains: Debunking Myths about Rabies in the Superstitions.” This interactive event [...]

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Regular Screening Can Help Prevent Cancer

By | February 21st, 2018|Prevention|

National Cancer Prevention Month is highlighted during the month of February, but preventing cancer is something that should become a part of daily lives because there are many effective prevention methods related to certain cancers. Cervical cancer was once a leading cause of cancer related deaths for women in the United States, but due to [...]

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Taking Care of your Heart Should be a Year-Round Activity

By | February 14th, 2018|Prevention|

Our Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, in the Bureau of Tobacco & Chronic Disease, encourages everyone to make every month heart month. During one of the most visible months we wanted to focus on a not-so-visible threat, hypertension. Also known as high blood pressure, this is a major risk factor for heart disease; the [...]

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State Loan Repayment Program Launching Electronic Application System

By | February 12th, 2018|Prevention|

The State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is launching its electronic application system that will improve efficiency in the program. Through the program’s continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts, we recognized that the SLRP paper application is unclear, outdated, and inefficient. For instance, the paper application often results to an incomplete or deficient application and increased phone calls to [...]

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Updating Healthcare Partners on the State of Infectious Disease in Arizona

By | February 5th, 2018|Preparedness|

On January 19th, our Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) program collaborated with the local Grand Canyon Chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) in hosting their annual State of the State meeting. Around 50 infection preventionists and other state partners attended the event, which was held at the Health Services Advisory Group in Phoenix. This annual presentation is dedicated [...]

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Reported Influenza Cases Reach H1N1 Pandemic Level

By | January 31st, 2018|Preparedness|

If you haven’t been vaccinated, protect yourself by getting your flu shot today. Just like putting on your seat belt, getting vaccinated can save you a trip to the hospital. If you or your children are sick with influenza, take precautions like staying home when you’re sick and covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing. [...]

2015 Healthcare-Associated Infection Data Report Releases

By | January 23rd, 2018|Preparedness|

Last week, the CDC released the National and State Healthcare-associated Infection Data Report for 2015 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data.  The National Healthcare Safety Network is the nation’s most widely used Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) tracking system and is being used for care improvement by facilities, states, regions, quality groups, and national public health agencies including CDC. [...]

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Data Helps Shape Public Health Priorities

By | January 18th, 2018|Preparedness|

ADHS collects huge amounts of data to help understand and address health problems across our state.  The department uses statistics to get insights about how many people in Arizona get Valley Fever each year or where environmental hazards are.  We also use statistics to address causes of disease, finding answers that impact policy and program decisions. In the 1940s [...]

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Highlighting Progress on the Opioid Response

By | January 12th, 2018|Preparedness|

It has been a busy four months since the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) submitted the Opioid Action Plan to Governor Ducey in September.  The report on findings and recommendations was one of the requirements under the public health emergency declaration issued on June 5. The challenging work of reducing opioid overdoses has continued [...]

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