The Buckeye Fire-Medical-Rescue Department recently became Arizona’s fourth emergency medical services (EMS) agency to successfully obtain ADHS Treat & Refer (T&R) EMS Agency recognition. Arizona's T&R Recognition Program recognizes EMS agencies that have demonstrated optimal patient safety and quality of care by matching appropriate treatment, transport, and care destination options to the needs of [...]
The Arizona Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) started its first data collection cycle last month. PRAMS is a joint research project between our agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that collects data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and after pregnancy. Every month, Arizona PRAMS will mail a questionnaire packet to [...]
Do you remember walking into your favorite restaurant and being asked, “smoking or non-smoking?” Just a decade ago you could still hear that familiar phrase as smoking in a restaurant or bar was legal. Those smoking sections did little to protect non-smokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Voters passed the Smoke-Free Arizona Act in [...]
Arizona law requires that all children attending school or child care must obtain certain vaccines, unless they are exempted by a doctor for medical purposes, or by a parent for personal reasons. Schools are required to collect a copy of immunization records, or signed exemption forms, for each student. Each year, immunization information for all [...]
April 23 through 29 is National Laboratory Professionals Week, a time for us to take a moment to thank our hard-working laboratory staff. This week we will celebrate the vital contributions laboratory professionals make to protect public health and safety . Our Public Health Laboratory is a leader in Arizona and the United States. For [...]
Representatives from more than 100 organizations will gather in Phoenix to accelerate the improvement of the state’s food system this Thursday and Friday. The 2017 Arizona Food Summit is part of the ongoing work between the Department of Agriculture and the Arizona Department of Health Services to reduce food insecurity in the state. Connecting Arizonans [...]
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be held Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs. You can find a drop off location in your area online. If you are downtown this weekend, there will be a take back drug [...]
Last week, we hosted our 24th annual Arizona Immunization Conference. About 400 partners from doctor’s offices, healthcare clinics, and state, local, and tribal agencies came together to learn and share best practices and current information about vaccination. These immunization heroes devote their time daily to ensure they are shielding Arizona communities from dangerous vaccine preventable [...]
When people are diagnosed with a disease that can affect their development such as Autism spectrum disorder, it is important they work with specialists who can provide the proper therapy. People with social communication difficulties, as seen with Autism spectrum disorder experience, have trouble using verbal and nonverbal communication in social settings. Speech-language pathologists can assess, [...]
Did you know that syphilis can cause serious health problems if left untreated or isn’t treated correctly? These serious health problems, like syphilis of the eye, are increasing among both men and women. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, but can also be spread from a mother to her unborn baby, known as congenital syphilis. [...]
