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
Various state laws direct our agency to put together a series of reports every year. Some of the reports are annual, some every 2 years, and some don’t exactly say how often we’re supposed to publish. We list each of the reports on our Agency Reports web page. Curious about what some of them are? [...]
The American Heart Association published a scientific advisory statement this week which underscores the crucial importance 9-1-1 dispatchers can play in the “Chain of Survival” for cardiac arrest. As is often the case- we were ahead of the curve. Long before this new policy statement came out, we began implementing a bold, statewide program aimed [...]
Our Health Systems Development shop just got a new workforce recruitment and retention grant from the National Health Service Corps to improve the number of healthcare providers that practice where we have shortages (technically called underserved areas). The Corps offers medical, dental, and behavioral health providers the opportunity to repay their student loan debts in [...]
Accessibility, advocacy and jobs are the focus of the grants given by the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council this year. The DDPC found 8 projects that will help the community with creating an accessible transportation system, educate folks about the Legal Options Manual and how to use it, work to train people as Partners in [...]
Public Health’s 10 Essential Services Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture - what is public health? Public health is everywhere and is a part of the infrastructure that keeps our communities safe and healthy and focuses on the entire populations while other models may focus on the individual. In the 1900s [...]
Last January 8th, the world was horrified by the events in Tucson Arizona. A mass shooting in a supermarket parking lot on a Saturday morning – 19 people shot, 6 died. As tragic as this event was, it could have been worse had the emergency medical care providers and trauma team not been prepared. It [...]
More than 2,000 kids ended up in AZ emergency rooms from accidental poisoning last year. Kids 5 and younger had the highest rates of non-fatal ER visits from accidental poisoning. Nationally, more than 60,000 young children end up in emergency rooms because they got into medicines while their parent or caregiver wasn't looking. The new Up and Away and Out of Sight educational [...]
Life is a precious gift. None of us knows long our gift will last, so it’s important to make the most of every day. That means doing everything you can to stay healthy by eating well and exercising regularly. A lot of folks will say – I’m stuck with my health because of my genes, [...]
Looking forward, 2012 is going to be another busy year for all of us. During the last Deputy/Assistant Director meeting, managers shared the biggest priorities for the next six months and I will share a few of the highlights throughout this week in our blog. One key focus that echoed throughout everyone’s summary was an [...]
I started my career in public health inspecting restaurants, motels and the like in the mid- 1980s. My area was right around here down toward South Mountain- and I inspected the cafeteria in the basement of the Executive Tower and the cafeteria that used to be on the 4th floor of the 1740 building. It doesn’t seem [...]
