Cara M. Christ

/Cara Christ

About Cara Christ

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

Online Resources for Finding Reliable Health Information

By | June 29th, 2017|Prevention|

Looking for health information online can be overwhelming and confusing. Since 1997, healthfinder.gov has been sharing reliable health information with health professionals and consumers. As part of this work, they have developed criteria for websites they will link to from healthfinder.gov. These guidelines reflect quality standards that are a part of Healthy People 2020 and the [...]

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Zika Planning Continues in Arizona

By | June 28th, 2017|Preparedness|

We hosted a Zika Action Plan Workshop and Tabletop Exercise on June 20 as part of our Zika preparedness series that began with the Zika Action Plan Summit in May 2016. Approximately 80 partners representing more than 25 local, tribal, and state organizations attended the latest workshop. The workshop events included an overview of Zika [...]

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Take Precautions to Stay Safe in Excessive Heat

By | June 27th, 2017|Preparedness|

Excessive Heat Warnings have affected many areas of our state since June 17. Temperatures during the Heat Warning reached as high as 122 degrees in cities like Lake Havasu and Bullhead City. Other parts of the state including Glendale and Yuma were at 120. With the extended duration of this event, overnight low temperatures seemed to [...]

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New eWIC Program Launched in Pinal County

By | June 26th, 2017|Prevention|

The new eWIC is officially live in a beautiful new clinic in Casa Grande. WIC families will receive the same foods but shop using the new Arizona eWIC card rather than paper checks. Moms will find that eWIC is flexible and convenient as they can buy their WIC foods as needed and families will carry [...]

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Update: More Progress on Addressing Arizona Opioid Epidemic

By | June 23rd, 2017|Prevention|

ADHS continues to work with partners to respond to the opioid emergency in Arizona, concluding our third week in the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC). The teamwork across many areas has resulted in another week of significant accomplishments. This week, we wrapped up our first week of data collection under the Governor’s executive order for [...]

Legionnaires’ Disease in Healthcare Facilities

By | June 22nd, 2017|Preparedness|

A recent CDC Vital Signs highlighted Legionnaire’s Disease, a serious and often deadly, lung infection (pneumonia) caused by the bacterium “Legionella”. People are exposed to Legionella when they breathe in mist (small droplets of water in the air) containing the bacteria. Most healthy people do not get sick after being exposed to Legionella. Elderly people, current [...]

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Arizona Acute and Long-Term Care Infection Prevention and Control Collaborative

By | June 21st, 2017|Licensing, Preparedness|

Our Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Program and Division of Licensing Services, collaborated with the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, APIC Consulting Inc., Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG), and other state partners to provide a two-day Arizona Healthcare-Acquired Conditions (HAC) and Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Prevention Summit. The two-day collaborative, held June 8 and June 9, brought [...]

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Arizona Partners in Preparedness are Prepared to Respond to Public Health Emergencies

By | June 20th, 2017|Preparedness|

Our Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness in partnership with State Emergency Management, Ability360, and independent living advocates joined forces to strengthen disaster readiness for persons with disabilities. The statewide Emergency Preparedness Task Force on Access and Functional Needs held the biannual preparedness summit on June 8 that brought together communities, individuals, and organizations working [...]

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Antimicrobial Stewardship in Community Settings

By | June 19th, 2017|General, Preparedness|

Last Sunday our Healthcare-Associated Infections Program and Antimicrobial Stewardship Subcommittee members presented at the 2017 Arizona Pharmacy Association Annual Convention. Their presentation “Antimicrobial Stewardship Focused on Community Settings in Arizona: Ready For Prime-Time” was focused on the following discussions: Global initiatives to improve the use of antibiotics, including programs in the United States Importance of paying attention to antimicrobial stewardship in the [...]

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Work Continues on Opioid Emergency Response

By | June 16th, 2017|General, Prevention|

Our team has logged another week in the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) hard at work addressing Governor Ducey’s calls to action to address Arizona’s opioid epidemic. Just like last week, this week has been a busy one. This week, Governor Ducey issued an executive order to increase timely reporting of opioid-related data. This order [...]

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