Cara M. Christ

/Cara Christ

About Cara Christ

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

School Garden Program is Budding with Change

By | January 5th, 2017|Preparedness|

Last month we launched new materials on our School Garden Program website. The Food Safety Plan was transformed from a pre-written template to a fillable PDF where applicants can easily input information about their garden and write their own policies and procedures. By writing their own food safety plans, garden leaders are empowered to proactively [...]

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Stay Active for a Healthier New Year

By | January 4th, 2017|Prevention|

Many of you may be thinking about making your health a priority in the New Year. Did you know that being physically active can help you increase your chances of living longer, feel better about yourself, decrease your chances of becoming depressed, sleep well at night, and stay at or get to a healthy [...]

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Follow These Tips to Avoid Unintentional Injuries from Toys

By | January 3rd, 2017|Prevention|

As parents we need to be vigilant to keep our kids safe with their new holiday toys. Always double check to make sure toys are age appropriate. Many toys have small, moving parts that can become a danger. Sometimes it’s not the toy itself but something hidden, like a battery, that can be a choking hazard. If [...]

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Healthy Eating; an Easy Resolution

By | December 30th, 2016|Prevention|

With the New Year just days away you might be like me, considering what you will resolve to do in 2017. Many times we set out to eat better and be more active but sometimes lose steam throughout the year. To be successful, divide big and vague goals like, “I will eat better” [...]

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Keep Your Smile Bright and Healthy Through the New Year

By | December 29th, 2016|Prevention|

The holidays bring family, friends and good times. It also brings a multitude of treats and sweets that are hard to refuse. With all that’s going on during this time of year, it’s easy to let things slide. Your oral health shouldn’t be one of them! Keeping your daily hygiene routine is important to your [...]

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Quitting Tobacco: A New You for New Year’s

By | December 28th, 2016|Prevention|

Quitting smoking is one of the hardest addictions to break, but it’s not impossible . A new year brings a sense of renewal and that’s why so many smokers make the resolution to quit. For some it’s a second, third or even tenth chance at kicking the habit. That sense of failure, or [...]

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Active School Neighborhood Checklist Gains National Attention

By | December 27th, 2016|General|

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently featured our Active School Neighborhood Checklist in their Physical Activity and Community Design Facilitated Peer Networking Call on December 15. The Arizona Nutrition Network's SNAP-Ed program from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, highlighted work done in Tucson using the checklist. The Active School Neighborhood Checklist is [...]

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Prescription Drug and Opiate Addiction Impact Newborns

By | December 23rd, 2016|Prevention|

Opioid abuse not only affects the user, but also others close to the user, especially, if the user is pregnant. Rural communities in the United States are seeing a rise in the number of babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, according to JAMA Pediatrics. The syndrome consists of the complications and withdrawal symptoms that result [...]

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Work Continues on Breast Cancer Learning Collaborative

By | December 22nd, 2016|Prevention|

Our Office of Cancer Prevention and Control has been awarded a contract from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) to continue exciting work on the Breast Cancer Learning Collaborative. In the first year, through some terrific research conducted by the Arizona Cancer Registry, we learned that African American, Native American, and Hispanic women [...]