Cara M. Christ

/Cara Christ

About Cara Christ

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

Calling the ASHLine Can Double Your Chance to Successfully Quit Smoking

By | November 18th, 2016|General|

This week we launched a new public awareness campaign that encourages people in Arizona who want to quit smoking to call the Arizona Smokers’ Helpline, also known as the ASHLine. The ASHLine provides individualized coaching and offers up to four weeks free of nicotine replacement therapy such as patches, lozenges, and gum. “Coaches on Coaching” features [...]

Programs Help Prevent Lung Cancer in Arizona

By | November 17th, 2016|Prevention|

The American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE initiative recently released the findings from its from its third annual Women’s Lung Health Barometer. The Lung Association estimates that almost 4,000 women in Arizona and more than 106,000 in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016. Our Chronic Disease Office in the Bureau of [...]

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Addressing Diabetes in Arizona

By | November 16th, 2016|Prevention|

One in nine Arizonans have diabetes and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are more than 29 million people with diabetes in the United States. The disease affects men and women, people young and old, and people of all races, [...]

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Get Smart About Antibiotics Week

By | November 15th, 2016|General|

Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, November 14 to 20, raises awareness of the threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic prescribing and use. Each year in the United States, at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a direct [...]

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Valley Fever Awareness Week is Here

By | November 14th, 2016|General, Preparedness|

An estimated 150,000 people are infected each year in the United States by the fungus that causes Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis). The fungus is mostly found in the Southwest with 65 percent of all nationally reported cases residing in Arizona. There are more than 5,000 reported cases and 700 hospitalizations in Arizona each year. Although anyone [...]

State Plan Focuses on Action Plan to Help People with Alzheimer’s

By | November 10th, 2016|Prevention|

Alzheimer’s is one of the most common form of more than 100 forms of dementias. The disease attacks brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging; it is a progressive disease that worsens over time affecting nearly one in three older adults who die each year. [...]

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New Report Asks Physicians to Support Increased Breastfeeding

By | November 9th, 2016|Prevention|

Supporting breastfeeding mothers and babies is an important part of the Arizona Department of Health Services efforts to decrease childhood obesity. The United States Preventive Services Task Force has just updated their recommendations for primary care providers to include breastfeeding support during pregnancy and after birth. Evidence shows that these steps can increase the duration [...]

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Keep Your Classroom or Team Sun Safe

By | November 8th, 2016|Preparedness|

Our SunWise Program and digital media department have been working diligently on creating a training video to promote sun safety and skin cancer prevention. The SunWise video serves as an easy to follow visual resource for educators, as well as the general public. How much do you know about skin cancer and risks associated [...]

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Arizona State Hospital is Developing Public-Private Partnership Opportunity

By | November 7th, 2016|General|

This past June, we released a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking feedback on opportunities for public-private partnerships at the Arizona State Hospital to create a Center of Psychiatric Excellence. Through this vision, we are looking for innovative opportunities for public-private partnerships to utilize available property and/or buildings located on the ASH campus  to enhance and improve the [...]

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