General

/General

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

Even Healthier AZ Preschools on the Way

By | October 23rd, 2012|General, Prevention|

AZ was selected to be one of only six states to participate in a new national initiative to help preschools to adopt evidence-based practices in nutrition, breastfeeding support, physical activity, and "screen time" policies and practices. The project begins this month when a company called Nemours (that’s who's been hired by the CDC) begins establishing and training state teams to lead preschool quality improvement learning collaboratives.  Nemours [...]

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Celebrate Healthy & Sustainable Food

By | October 22nd, 2012|General|

October 24th is the 2nd annual Food Day in the US.  It’s a nationwide celebration and movement towards more healthy, affordable and sustainable food. We’ve been collaboratively planning a “Phoenix Real Food Tour” with Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the The Orchard Community Learning Center garden, Tiger Mountain Foundation, Central Farmers’ Market, and the Arizona Department [...]

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D.R.E.A.M. Job Fair is Oct. 18…TODAY!

By | October 18th, 2012|General|

In honor of National Disability and Rehabilitation Employment Awareness Month ADES and several community partners will host the D.R.E.A.M. Job Fair to provide job and networking opportunities for people with disabilities in Maricopa County today (Oct. 18) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gateway Community College (108 N. 40th St., Phoenix, AZ 85034). The goal of the job [...]

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Our New Strategic Plan

By | October 17th, 2012|General|

The vision of the Department is to ideally achieve a state of Health and Wellness for all Arizonans and our mission is to promote, protect, and improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities in Arizona. The updated mission and vision statements are helping us build public health value in-house as well as in [...]

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Outcomes: Public Health’s Lighthouse

By | October 16th, 2012|Behavioral Health, General|

One of our primary objectives over the last couple of years has been to shift the focus of our performance measures away from process and procedures toward actual outcomes.  In other words, we don’t want to measure our success on whether someone’s paperwork is right, but on whether the services we provide actually help folks achieve [...]

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Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period begins today

By | October 15th, 2012|Behavioral Health, General|

October 15 to December 7 is when ALL people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plan and prescription drug coverage for 2013. Information on 2013 plans will be available beginning in October. People with Medicare can call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov for plan information. If a person is satisfied that their current plan will meet [...]

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Improving Physical Activity & Nutrition for Folks with Special Needs

By | October 10th, 2012|General|

Special Olympics Arizona’s (SOAz) has been a core partner for improving the health of folks with disabilities in Arizona for a long time.  They'll have an opportunity to take their mission even further as a result of our new partnership between Special Olympics and our Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs to better integrate kids with [...]

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Energize Our Borders

By | October 9th, 2012|General|

I just got back from this year’s (30th annual) United States-Mexico Border Governor’s Conference in Albuquerque- called “Energize Our Borders”.  It was an opportunity to further strengthen the ties of friendship, security, and economic prosperity among the 10 states that comprise our United States-Mexico border region.  The Conference is made up of 7 worktables including Agriculture and [...]

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2012 State by State Preparedness Report

By | October 2nd, 2012|General, Preparedness, Prevention|

Safeguarding the public’s health is more important than ever.  Whether the threat is a disease outbreak, environmental hazard or natural disaster, the public health system works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep Arizonans safe.  Each year, the CDC evaluates state and local public health preparedness programs in a detailed report.  This [...]

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To helmet or not?

By | September 25th, 2012|General, Prevention|

Cooler temperatures have many people looking for new adventures, even in the high country.  Cycling is fun for the entire family, but it’s important to be as safe as possible.  Knowing the rules of the road is important, but so is personal protection – like helmets.  Injuries to the head are the most common among [...]

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