A report out by the CDC this week found that people between 18 and 64 years old make up 61% of all flu-related hospitalizations so far this season in the US. In normal years only about 35% of flu hospitalizations are from this age group. H1N1 (the flu strain we saw circulating in the 2009 flu pandemic) is still the [...]
Patients and Staff at the Arizona State Hospital are working with the Phoenix Rescue Mission again this year to create Blessing Bags. They're large gallon sized Ziploc bags filled with basic necessities which will be handed out by the Phoenix Rescue Mission to the homeless. But they need some donations to get going. The Hospital team [...]
Sugar has been in the news with a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine that took a look at sugar intake and deaths from heart disease. The study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and included surveys from 1988 through 2010. Some of the findings were things we already know, like most [...]
Around the Country, State Emergency Medical Services offices are looking for ways to help returning Veterans with medical experience find employment in the EMS industry. We’ll be making it a priority in 2014 to engage more Veterans with EMS experience to use their skills in Arizona’s progressive EMS and Trauma System. We have a couple [...]
Today we published Arizona’s first ever comprehensive State Health Assessment. The objective of the State Health Assessment is to give Arizona’s public health and health care systems a clear tool to help drive future decision-making and resource allocation as we collectively design and implement evidence-based interventions to improve health and wellness outcomes across Arizona. The [...]
Last week we had a visit from CMS (Medicare) to check on our plan of correction from a Survey that was conducted last fall at the Civil Units. Although we won’t get a final report for a while… we do know that Team ASH did a great job during the survey- ensuring that the surveyors [...]
On previous Blogs I’ve shared information about Community Integrated Paramedicine. One of the most promising opportunities for Community Paramedicine is in working with hospitals to prevent readmission of patients with diseases like diabetes, asthma or congestive heart failure. It’s also a great opportunity for EMS providers to provide some coaching on other prevention initiatives including [...]
The child safety seat exchange program we established as cooperative partnership via the Arizona-Mexico Commission last summer is moving forward. We’ve established a new partnership with Rural Metro and Southwest Ambulance to serve as collection sites for people who want to donate their gently used car seat that will be donated to families in Sonora. [...]
I just got back from attending the 2014 Comisión Sonora-Arizona meeting (the sister Commission to the Arizona-Mexico Commission). The theme for this year’s Fall/Winter Sonora Plenary was, “Energy Transforms Sonora and Arizona.” I co-chair the Health Services Committee along with Dr. William Neubauer. On the Sonora side, the Health Services Committee is co-chaired by Dr. [...]
As the Olympics begin, Chef and Registered Dietitian Allen Tran’s words come to mind, “nutrition can make a good athlete great or a great athlete good”. I think his view holds some truth for all of us. Allen knows because he is the High-Performance Chef for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. He is in [...]
