Arizona Department of Health Services, Director’s Blog

Poetry Contest for National Food Safety Month

Every year, one in six (47.8 million) people in the United States get sick from the food they eat. Oftentimes, foodborne illnesses are seen as being caused by carelessness or negligence, but even the best of intentions can’t stop a foodborne illness unless the right preventive actions are taken.

The Food Safety and Environmental Services team wants to help keep […]

By | September 6th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on Poetry Contest for National Food Safety Month

Information Sharing with Hospitals during Disasters

Recent events such as Hurricane Harvey have illustrated the importance of information sharing during a disaster response. Communication and coordination between first responders, health care facilities, emergency management, public health, and other responders is critical to protecting the health and well-being of disaster victims. After action reports and lessons learned from previous […]

By | September 5th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on Information Sharing with Hospitals during Disasters

New Report Shows Progress in HIV Prevention

Our HIV Surveillance Program has just released their 2017 Annual Report which includes data up through 2016. The number of people living with HIV in Arizona was 17,464 in 2016. This trend that has been slowly increasing over the last two decades partially due to enhanced treatments that lead to improved survival […]

By | September 1st, 2017|Prevention|Comments Off on New Report Shows Progress in HIV Prevention

State Loan Repayment Program for Primary Care Providers Serving in Underserved Communities

The Arizona State Loan Repayment Program provides loan repayment incentives to eligible health care providers who commit to serve in Arizona’s medically underserved communities. Up to $65,000 of loan repayment assistance is available for physicians and dentists in exchange for an initial two-year commitment to serve in federally designated Health Professional […]

By | August 31st, 2017|Prevention|Comments Off on State Loan Repayment Program for Primary Care Providers Serving in Underserved Communities

Statewide Tobacco Inspections Continue to Improve

Since 2002, ADHS has contracted with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to conduct routine inspections of tobacco retailers to ensure that retailers are complying with the state prohibition on selling tobacco products to minors.  Studies have shown that effective youth tobacco enforcement programs reduce the prevalence of youth smoking.  Arizona has a dedicated […]

By | August 30th, 2017|Prevention|Comments Off on Statewide Tobacco Inspections Continue to Improve

Opioid Update: Closing in on Recommendations

Governor Ducey’s executive order declaring a public health emergency includes a requirement for the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to provide a report on findings and recommendations to the Governor by September 5, 2017.  The emergency declaration will officially come to an end when the Governor accepts the report.

In order to […]

By | August 29th, 2017|Prevention|Comments Off on Opioid Update: Closing in on Recommendations