General – Page 21 – AZ Dept. of Health Services Director's Blog

Here you will find topics ranging from current events that affect public health in Arizona to overall information about the Arizona Department of Health Services

The 5th “Vital Sign” & the Painkiller Epidemic (Part IV of V)

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:31-07:00 August 20th, 2014|General|

In Parts I, II, and III of this series we established the acute and growing effects that the opiate painkiller epidemic is having in America, and how it has been driven (in part) by aggressive pain management strategies that were implemented since Pain was identified as the 5th Vital Sign. Since then, public health and [...]

Association v. Causation

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:31-07:00 August 18th, 2014|General|

One of the key objectives of public health is to assess the cause of disease or bad outcomes so we can design interventions. In order to do that, we need to be able to tell the difference between when something is actually “causing” an outcome and when the exposure or condition is simply “associated” or [...]

Comments Off

The 5th “Vital Sign” & the Painkiller Epidemic (Part III of V)

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:33-07:00 August 14th, 2014|General|

In Part I and Part II of this series we’ve introduced the idea that contemporary pain management strategies have resulted in an epidemic of painkiller misuse and abuse that’s killing large numbers of people. In fact, misuse and abuse of opiate prescription painkillers takes out more people every year than car crashes. The run-up to the [...]

Comments Off

Stories to Make You Smile

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:33-07:00 August 13th, 2014|General|

In 2012 the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (the DDPC works out of the 4th floor of our 1740 building) partnered with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC) to develop new self-employment opportunities. The Home Baked and Confectionary Goods law was used as the foundation for the project due to potential ease of [...]

Suicide & Depression: A Critical Arizona Winnable Battle

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:33-07:00 August 12th, 2014|General|

Depression strikes more people than you might think. Some 300,000 people in Arizona live with major depression. It may take years from when symptoms first emerge and to when people finally get help. Less than one-third of adults with a diagnosed mental illness receive treatment. Often, it’s the friends and family of a person living [...]

Comments Off

Employment First Initiative

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:33-07:00 August 12th, 2014|Behavioral Health, General|

Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council is sponsoring a series of six Employment First Community Forums to develop a comprehensive strategic plan designed to promote employment for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. A broad coalition of self-advocates, family members, service providers, educators, state agencies, advocates and employers are sharing ideas and strategies to raise public [...]

Comments Off

Successful Infectious Disease Prevention Conference

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:33-07:00 August 1st, 2014|General|

Last week we wrapped up our 5th annual Arizona Infectious Disease Training and Exercise. This event kicked off with a full day pandemic influenza tabletop exercise followed by two days of training on a variety of infectious disease topics. The 400 registrants – public health folks, infection preventionists, healthcare providers, academic partners, and others – learned [...]

Comments Off

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:33-07:00 July 31st, 2014|General|

You’ve probably read about how we are working on the Arizona Health Improvement Plan to help us all live a better, healthier and longer life. But one of the most important things we can do as today’s leaders is to inspire tomorrow’s leaders. I had the opportunity to meet Cody Vasquez this week – he’s [...]

Comments Off

Dramatic Results from AZ’s Cardiac Arrest Receiving Center Initiative

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:34-07:00 July 30th, 2014|General|

A few years ago our Bureau of EMS & Trauma System enticed dozens of AZ hospitals to become a Cardiac Receiving Centers. The initiative helps hospitals provide treatments scientifically proven to improve a patient’s survival rate (like using therapeutic hypothermia to improve the chances of survival). The program also includes protocols for the pre-hospital teams [...]

Comments Off

The 5th “Vital Sign” & the Painkiller Epidemic (Part I of V)

By Will Humble| 2017-02-10T09:49:34-07:00 July 29th, 2014|General|

In our lifetimes, each one of us is likely to experience pain. The pain experience could be acute and resolve itself in short order (like a bee sting). Pain can also be a chronic experience lasting a long time with varying levels of intensity (like rheumatoid arthritis). Pain is also subjective and what one person considers [...]

Previous 19 20 21 22 23 Next

ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES

Health and Wellness for All Arizonans

ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES

Health and Wellness for All Arizonans

ARIZONA DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH SERVICES