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.

Preparing AZ for Zika Virus

By | April 12th, 2016|Preparedness|

On April 1st, a delegation of state and local public health professionals from Arizona joined up with experts across the county at CDC's Zika Action Plan Summit in Atlanta. Arizona has already done quite a bit in preparation for the arrival of Zika virus in Arizona, including developing response plans, meeting monthly with state and [...]

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Statewide Partnerships Lead Efforts to Eliminate TB

By | April 5th, 2016|Preparedness|

Last week, 25 public health tuberculosis (TB) nurses, epidemiologists and program managers from across the state came together to talk Arizona TB. This group represented 13 counties and three tribal nations, and spent the day talking about what they’ve done, what they do, and what they’re working toward. The control of tuberculosis can never go [...]

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National Public Health Week: Creating the Healthiest Nation by 2030

By | April 4th, 2016|General, Licensing, Preparedness, Prevention|

This week, April 4 through 10, we’re celebrating National Public Health Week (NPHW) 2016, a week that helps us recognize the work all of us do to keep our communities and our families healthy. During the first full week of April each year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) brings communities across the United States [...]

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Working Together to Prevent Heat-Related Illness

By | April 1st, 2016|Preparedness|

Living in Arizona, extreme heat is a situation we are all too familiar with each summer. High temperatures from May through September contribute to more than 118 deaths and more than 2,000 emergency room visits annually here in our state. Right now, it’s not that hot, but we know the scorching Arizona heat is right around the [...]

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Public Health Lab Authorized by CDC to Test for Zika Virus

By | March 30th, 2016|Preparedness|

Our Public Health Laboratory has been authorized by the CDC to begin testing for the Zika virus. We received a Zika virus testing validation panel from the Laboratory Response Network at CDC late last week, passed the proficiency testing panel and were authorized to test for Zika virus this past Monday. Using this test we can run up to 100 [...]

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Arizona’s First Case of Zika in a Traveler

By | March 29th, 2016|Preparedness|

As expected, the first case of Zika has finally been confirmed in Arizona. Yesterday, our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory identified Zika virus in a specimen sent to us for testing. The case, an older adult woman in Maricopa County, was infected with the disease while traveling in a country with known Zika virus transmission. [...]

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Evaluating Stakeholder Needs to Improve Public Health Programs

By | March 25th, 2016|Preparedness|

Input and feedback from our partners is critical to ensuring the public health work we do is effective and meaningful. Even when (or especially when) programs have been in existence for years, it’s important to continue checking in with our stakeholders. MEDSIS, our electronic communicable disease surveillance system, has been in place since 2006, but [...]

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World TB Day

By | March 24th, 2016|Preparedness|

Each year on March 24th, we observe World TB Day and revisit the worldwide efforts to control and eliminate tuberculosis (TB) .  The theme of World TB Day 2016, "Unite to End TB," is showcased in Arizona through ongoing local, state, national, and binational collaboration. While nationally in 2015 we saw an increase of 157 [...]

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Fuzzy and Cute Friends Require Healthy Habits

By | March 23rd, 2016|Preparedness|

With Easter right around the corner, little ones in Arizona may be coming into contact with baby chicks or ducklings at festivals, egg hunts, or petting zoos. While these baby birds are cute, they are also common carriers of Salmonella bacteria . Salmonella bacteria can cause infections in people, with symptoms including diarrhea, fever, and [...]

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Arizona Receives Funding to Promote One Health Education among Youth

By | March 16th, 2016|Preparedness|

The Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the CDC selected ADHS as an award recipient for the 2016 Influenza Education among Youth in Agriculture Project. This project will be conducted in collaboration between our Vector-borne and Zoonotic Disease Program, Arizona Department of Agriculture, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, and Midwestern University College of Veterinary [...]