With one of the worst wildfire tragedies in history happening last weekend, our Health Emergency Operations Center was active all week. First making sure that there was enough behavioral health support through the Regional Behavioral Health Authorities, then helping provide some specific assistance to the shelters in Prescott and Wickenburg. On Tuesday, we pulled special beds [...]
HHS rolled out a new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Resource Center this week. The online Resource Center is designed for organizations working to prevent teen pregnancy across the country. The TPP Resource Center provides skill-building materials, including webinars, tip-sheets, e-learning modules, and podcasts, in an easy-to-use one-stop shop and provides resources and direct-service information on topics related to [...]
Thanks go out to all of our ADHS team that tracked bills throughout the legislative session and provided feedback. Especially- a huge thanks to Colby Bower to hung tough throughout the entire process. There were lots of spinning plates in the air and we managed to watch them all because of our team effort. This year’s [...]
For many people, Independence Day wouldn’t be complete without fireworks. There are dozens of public fireworks shows around the state, but some people like shooting them. You’ve probably seen the fireworks displays in local stores and may even have kids asking you to buy some. We looked at fireworks-related injuries from Arizona hospitals in the [...]
We are mourning the tragic deaths of 19 firefighters at the Yarnell Hill Fire. We're working through the Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Authority to help the firefighters and community there to deal with the loss of life and the speedy evacuation in front of the fire. The loss of most of the Granite Mountain Hot Shot team [...]
The heat played havoc with the computer system that services us this weekend. While doing some routine maintenance on Saturday morning, the heat overwhelmed the generators that were keeping the servers running. So for about 8 hours, no one could access our homepage nor any of the services we offer like azcarecheck, assisted living renewals, [...]
We owe a big round of applause to our Licensing & Rulemaking teams- who’ve spent the better part of 2 years working with hundreds of folks from numerous associations and licensed facilities as part of our regulatory reform initiative. This afternoon we filed an overhaul of 20 Articles of regulations for healthcare institutions and behavioral health service agencies including [...]
This week many of us are heading out for vacations or picnics to celebrate the nation’s birthday. And when we’re out of normal routines, we may forget basic health prevention – such as washing our hands. Even though we know that it is the best way to prevent spreading germs, a new study shows that [...]
The Arizona Center for Rural Health in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the U of A was recently recognized as an Outstanding Rural Health Organization for 2013 by The National Rural Health Association. The Center partners with Arizona’s rural communities to improve access to healthcare, reduce the costs of care, [...]
You’ve probably heard the words “meaningful use” thrown around… but what is it? Basically, it’s using electronic health record technology to: 1) Improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities; 2) Engage patients and family; 3) Improve care coordination, and population and public health; and 4) Maintain privacy and security of patient health information. Using [...]
