Arizona uses a Certificate of Necessity process to license ambulance services. This process can be challenging for new applicants because it uses terminology and accounting practices that the person responsible for completing the application may not be familiar with. To help overcome that problem, our Bureau of EMS and Trauma System has begun posting important [...]
Our agency continues to measure what matters in an effort to improve our services to Arizonans and review these measurements on a routine basis to ensure we’re on track in achieving our mission. One critical component of the work we do here is providing education, recommendations, and guidance to the public, healthcare providers, and public [...]
Last summer Arizona had an outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis virus, which is similar to West Nile virus. Both are spread most commonly by the bite of an infected mosquito, but other possible routes of infection include organ transplants, blood transfusions, or needle sticks in laboratories. Public health was notified that one person in Arizona [...]
Data is an instrumental component of public health that helps us monitor population health, plan and evaluate interventions, and track priorities. One of our most valuable sources of public health data is the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which is a telephone survey that collects data from Arizona adults 18 and older. The BRFSS survey collects data related [...]
The purpose of the Arizona Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP) is to move the dial on important health outcomes and it is an important component of Public Health Accreditation. A lot has been going on behind the scenes to move us forward in the accreditation process. Below is an update of the work we have done [...]
In light of the recent tragedies occurring in the U.S. and around the world, there is help locally, if you need support. Mercy Maricopa, which oversees the crisis system in Maricopa County, has activated a dedicated 24/7 crisis line in response to the recent shootings. Crisis Response Network operates the line, 1-800-203-CARE (2273), and it’s [...]
Many Arizona residents live in food deserts, which are areas that lack healthy, affordable, good-quality food. Having access to nutritious food requires that food be available in the community and that households can afford it. In Arizona, twenty-one and a half percent of households with children are food insecure. Childhood food security and childhood obesity [...]
For the past several weeks, local and state public health have identified cases of measles in both detainees and staff members at a federal detention center in Eloy, Arizona; however no cases have been identified in community members unrelated to the facility. For the past week we have been holding steady at 22 confirmed cases. [...]
Over the past few weeks, flu activity across the state has been decreasing. It’s not a break for the flu team though. Flu cases still occur and surveillance activities continue throughout the summer; however, activities are different in the non-peak activity (summer) and peak activity (winter) seasons. During the summer, case investigations are performed on all flu [...]
Is it really true? Could cookie dough make us sick? If you’ve been watching or reading the news lately, you may have heard about a new outbreak that is linked to dough made with contaminated flour. What is unusual about this outbreak is that the source was not from the usual suspect, raw egg, but [...]
