I know that some of you out there are going to attend the Winter Olympics - so I put together the blog post below over the weekend for folks that might be going. Here goes in case you’re interested: Let’s start with the good news first- then the health tips… Sochi Games to be Smoke Free- Russians [...]
Back in the fall I mentioned the new SARS-like virus, MERS-CoV, which has been causing severe illness, and sometimes death, mainly in the Arabian Peninsula. Four months ago, 103 cases had been reported worldwide, about half of them fatal. Now, 177 cases have been reported, with 74 deaths. The cases are almost all located in [...]
This week we’re making 3 efficiency changes in our behavioral health system. Instead of having providers bill us and AHCCCS for different services, all the bills will go to AHCCCS- and we’ll get statements from them. It’ll be the same with enrollment- all paperwork is processed through AHCCCS and we’ll get a standard report that [...]
The Governor today announced a final agreement has been reached in the Arnold vs. Sarn case regarding care and services for individuals with serious mental illness. Litigation that commenced in 1981, the settlement ends a more than three-decade long lawsuit against the state and establishes a blueprint for a successful community-based behavioral health system in [...]
Poisoning (including alcohol and prescription drugs) causes more deaths than car crashes in Arizona. A recent report issued by the Trust for America's Health ranked Arizona as having the 6th highest death rate for drug overdose in the country in 2010. Arizona also had one of the highest rates (4th highest at 5.7%) of nonmedical [...]
Back in 2013 our Licensing team joined with our Infectious Disease Services shop and our Healthcare Associated Infections Advisory Committee to put together a day-long conference aimed at improving infection control practices in our dialysis facilities. The ADVICE collaborative brought together licensed dialysis providers, the dialysis network, federal partners, and public health professionals to find [...]
We rolled out a new electronic birth certificate system this week that will be a game-changer for public health. Our system (which took about 18 months to plan, create & launch) will help us collect better surveillance data for our Winnable Battles like obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse, and better data about birth outcomes that will help [...]
Flu season is here! Parts of the country (mostly in the south) have had more intense flu activity in the last few weeks, and 25 states reported widespread flu activity for the week ending December 28th. Meanwhile, in Arizona we are seeing an increase in the number of lab-confirmed flu cases reported to ADHS- but [...]
The Ambulance Down In The Valley A Poem About Public Health Prevention by Joseph Malins (1895) 'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed, though to walk near its crest was so pleasant; but over its terrible edge there had slipped a duke and full many a peasant. So the people said something would [...]
Arizona is on a great trajectory for success if you go by baby names. The most popular boy’s name in 2013 was Liam which means strong-willed warrior and the most popular girl’s name – Sophia – means wisdom. Liam, a form of the name William, jumped to first place from fourth last year, but it [...]
