Four years ago- AZ's Trauma System was really in its infancy. We had 7 Level I (high-end) Trauma Centers… but that’s it. After 4 years and a full court press- we now have a functional statewide trauma system to help folks who get injured outside the metropolitan areas that includes 31 trauma centers including 16 of the [...]
Guest Post Written by Melanie Mitros, PhD, Director of the Arizona Living Well Institute: Make regular deposits in your health account while minimizing the withdrawals! Invest in your health by exercising regularly, eating a nutritious diet, managing stress and chronic conditions, and engaging with family and community as well as volunteering. As the vision of [...]
We’ll be turning the key on our newest evidence-based preconception health initiative next week. Look for the rollout of PowerMe A2Z- which is our innovative public health campaign that promotes healthy living among young women in Arizona. The goals are to help young women to take a multivitamin with folic acid, to promote healthy eating, active [...]
Last year, a new SARS-like virus called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) broke out in Saudi Arabia. Since then, 94 cases of the very lethal disease have been reported by the World Health Organization (50% of the cases have been fatal). All the cases have been on the Arabian Peninsula. The virus causes severe [...]
Drowning happens quickly and quietly in a matter of minutes. It happens in all kinds of places – bathtubs, swimming pools, buckets – anything with water. So far this year in Arizona, 27 people have died including 6 children. Last year that number was sixty - 20 were children. August is Drowning Impact Awareness Month. [...]
We finally got some better news from the childhood obesity public health front this week. Tuesday’s CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that childhood obesity rates are stabilizing or decreasing slightly across the country. In fact, 19 states had a significant downward trend in obesity prevalence among low-income preschoolers. There was no change in [...]
One of the most important aspects of public health is sharing effective, creative ideas with other public health agencies so more people can benefit from what we learn. Each year the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials highlights really good programs with their Vision Awards. This year, they selected 2 from Arizona to share [...]
A couple of months ago I heard a story from a parent of a special needs kid who told me that she was trying to find a pre-school- but her kid was denied admission. She said that the facility told her that our licensing regulations wouldn’t allow the school to admit her child because he [...]
Increasing the percentage of women that choose to breastfeed is a critical evidence-based practice for addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Here in Arizona, we have a lot to celebrate during World Breastfeeding Week- because of our collective work to increase breastfeeding is paying off. Arizona’s percentage of babies who begin breastfeeding has jumped to 83% [...]
A couple years ago, the legislature passed a bill to allow people to make certain foods at home and sell them to the public. The food has to be a low-risk for food-borne diseases, but there's lots of options. The program is a great success - we have more than 1,700 people registered for the [...]
