Preparedness

/Preparedness

Items in the Preparedness category will cover everything from Emergency Medical Services to vaccination programs. This division at ADHS tracks contagious disease, coordinates emergency preparedness activity, licenses EMTs and Paramedics, regulates ambulance companies, authorizes special hospital designations like cardiac care center and Level IV trauma center, issues birth and death certificates, and tracks critical health data through various sources including hospital discharge information.

National Handwashing Awareness Week

By | December 5th, 2016|Preparedness|

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified handwashing as the single most effective way to prevent the transmission of disease. Washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water will help protect you from getting sick with things like influenza, a cold, norovirus, and many other unpleasant infections. This week, we're [...]

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2016 Arizona HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report Released

By | November 29th, 2016|Preparedness|

Our HIV Epidemiology Program just released their 2016 Arizona HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report, documenting HIV/AIDS incidence and prevalence trends at both the state and county level throughout Arizona. In 2015, there were 17,349 Arizonans living with HIV/AIDS, of which 730 were newly infected. The number of HIV-related deaths has been decreasing from 309 deaths in [...]

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Keeping the Public Safe and Healthy; Environmental Health Specialists at Work

By | November 28th, 2016|Preparedness|

Ever wonder who inspects restaurants, swimming pools and spas, and hotels to make sure they are safe for the public?  Our sanitarians and environmental health specialists and all the local county environmental health departments are the individuals that go into the field conducting these inspections.  They work with members of the public, business owners, and [...]

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Keep Your Thanksgiving Feast Safe

By | November 22nd, 2016|Preparedness|

Thanksgiving is just two days away, so whether you’ve been tasked with making an entire Thanksgiving meal or just preparing a few dishes, there are four simple steps to food safety that everyone should follow: clean, separate, cook, and chill. Clean your hands and kitchen surfaces often when preparing food. Wash your hands for 20 [...]

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Valley Fever Awareness Week is Here

By | November 14th, 2016|General, Preparedness|

An estimated 150,000 people are infected each year in the United States by the fungus that causes Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis). The fungus is mostly found in the Southwest with 65 percent of all nationally reported cases residing in Arizona. There are more than 5,000 reported cases and 700 hospitalizations in Arizona each year. Although anyone [...]

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Keep Your Classroom or Team Sun Safe

By | November 8th, 2016|Preparedness|

Our SunWise Program and digital media department have been working diligently on creating a training video to promote sun safety and skin cancer prevention. The SunWise video serves as an easy to follow visual resource for educators, as well as the general public. How much do you know about skin cancer and risks associated [...]

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Joint Statement on Importance of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship

By | November 3rd, 2016|Preparedness|

The CDC and The Pew Charitable Trusts, in collaboration with 12 national health organizations, released a joint letter earlier this month on the importance of antibiotic stewardship in outpatient settings. Outpatient stewardship refers to coordinated efforts to promote appropriate prescribing of antibiotics for non-hospitalized patients in clinics, doctor’s offices, and emergency rooms. The overarching goal is to [...]

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Arizona hosts “Protect you and the Zoo from Flu” with the Phoenix Zoo

By | November 2nd, 2016|Preparedness|

Public health officials regularly explore new and creative ways to promote health and wellness for Arizonans. On Saturday November 5, our staff and Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) join in a new partnership with the Phoenix Zoo to host a free flu vaccine clinic accompanied with outreach on disease prevention. Last year’s flu [...]

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Largest Measles Outbreak of the Year Just got Bigger (but don’t worry!)

By | October 28th, 2016|Preparedness|

Even though the largest measles outbreak of the year officially ended on August 8, the work did not stop there. State and local disease detectives, along with CDC, continued to review all rash illnesses reported in the detention center before the first measles cases were identified. The goal was to see if, looking back, these [...]

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MRSA Prevention is Critical to Healthcare Safety

By | October 26th, 2016|Preparedness, Prevention|

October is MRSA awareness month, and October 2 was World MRSA Day. MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterial infection that is resistant to many types of antibiotics.  These events help raise the awareness of MRSA around the globe and to activate survivors, communities, governments, healthcare officials, and personnel to join together to [...]

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