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.

Statewide Planning for Zika Preparedness

By | March 10th, 2016|Preparedness|

While Arizona is holding steady with no Zika cases reported (yet), we are still working hard to make sure we’re prepared at the state and local levels to respond to cases of Zika virus infection and take steps to prevent disease spread within our communities. Public health, environmental health, and vector control agencies across the state [...]

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Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention in Arizona

By | March 9th, 2016|Preparedness|

If you’ve caught the news lately, you’ve probably seen reports of lead poisoning in other states linked to contaminated drinking water. Lead poisoning is a serious health concern – especially in children. Lead poisoning can damage children’s intelligence, behavior, hearing, or growth, and the only way to detect the condition is through blood testing. Last [...]

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Groundwater Awareness Week

By | March 7th, 2016|Preparedness|

March 6 through 12 marks the 18th National Groundwater Awareness Week. Groundwater is the water that soaks into the soil from rain or other precipitation and moves downward to fill cracks and other openings in beds of rocks and sand. Most groundwater flows directly into streams, rivers and lakes from below. Groundwater contamination is of [...]

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Arizona Making Progress Against Healthcare-Associated Infections

By | March 4th, 2016|Preparedness|

On March 3rd, the CDC released the National and State Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Progress Report for 2014 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data.  This annual report provides an update on previous reports, detailing state and national progress towards reducing, and ultimately eliminating, HAIs.   The infection types highlighted in the report include Central Line-Associated [...]

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Flu Still Widespread in Arizona

By | February 29th, 2016|Preparedness|

The news is true… Arizona continues to top the country in reports of influenza-like illness for the fourth week in a row. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Arizona has more people sick with flu than anywhere else in the country (not all flu cases get reported to public health departments), it does mean that [...]

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Ebola Enhanced Entry Screening to End in the U.S.

By | February 22nd, 2016|Preparedness|

In December, the WHO declared the end of Ebola transmission in Guinea. As of February 19, all U.S. enhanced screening and monitoring requirements for travelers returning from Guinea have been removed. This follows a CDC assessment that the risk of Ebola in travelers from Guinea is low. Travelers leaving from Guinea will still be screened [...]

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Disease Investigations: Electronic Tools at Work

By | February 19th, 2016|Preparedness|

When you get sick with an infectious disease like Salmonella or the flu, your healthcare provider or the laboratory that conducted the test on you is required to report your illness to the county or state public health department. In Arizona, almost 100 different diseases are reportable. Public health disease detectives investigate reports of diseases [...]

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Preparing for Foodborne Outbreaks in Arizona

By | February 16th, 2016|Preparedness|

Foodborne outbreaks are unpredictable and often require a rapid response that includes fieldwork and sample collection to identify the source of the outbreak. Our Food Safety Environmental Services Program recognizes the importance of being prepared for these unplanned emergencies, which is why we always have foodborne outbreak response kits at the ready. A few years ago, after [...]

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Influenza Activity Reaches Widespread Status

By | February 11th, 2016|Preparedness|

This week's flu report shows our influenza activity in the state has reached a "widespread" classification. More than 3,700 cases of flu have been reported throughout Arizona, with 51 percent of those in Maricopa County. There have been 3,710 lab-confirmed influenza cases reported for the 2015-2016 influenza season in Arizona. Cases have been reported in all 15 counties, with [...]

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Sharing the State of Infectious Disease in Arizona with Healthcare Partners

By | February 10th, 2016|Preparedness|

Our Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, in collaboration with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Grand Canyon Chapter, hosted their state of the state meeting last month. This annual event is dedicated to program updates and education from many areas of the ADHS Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control Services. The event took place [...]

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