Arizona Department of Health Services, Director’s Blog

ADHS Staff Participate in Hunger Action Month Social Media Campaign

The Feeding America nationwide network of food banks in all 50 states is asking each of us to take steps to bring an end to hunger. Hunger Action Month, which is observed in September, is designed to bring awareness of the fact that 48 million Americans, including 15 million children, are food insecure, according to the United States Department […]

By | September 27th, 2016|Prevention|Comments Off on ADHS Staff Participate in Hunger Action Month Social Media Campaign

Bureau of Vital Records Participates in National Data Sharing Program

istock_000003267936xsmallThis week the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released the 2015 birth data file and accompanying data brief “Births in the United States, 2015.” This report plays a significant role in public health program planning and funding throughout the nation.

Our Bureau of Vital Records participated with […]

By | September 26th, 2016|Licensing|1 Comment

Food Safety Education Month Tips: Always Cook to Proper Temperature

istock_000046017950_xxxlargesmStudies have shown that Americans know food safety is important, but they have also shown we need to be better informed about what food safety looks like in practice. There are four keys to food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. I’ve already discussed the importance of cleaning and separating. This week, […]

By | September 23rd, 2016|Preparedness|Comments Off on Food Safety Education Month Tips: Always Cook to Proper Temperature

New Online Portal Helps Streamline Speech and Hearing Testing Documentation Process

office workerLast September our Licensing team rolled out the online renewal portal for speech and hearing professionals that allows almost 5,000 hearing aid dispensers, audiologists, and speech-language pathologists statewide complete the renewal application electronically, upload documents, and submit an online payment. In addition to quicker submission by licensees, the improvement […]

By | September 22nd, 2016|Licensing|1 Comment

Join the Global Conversation about Antibiotic Resistance This Week

16874_loresAntibiotic-resistant bacteria are the germs that don’t respond to the drugs developed to kill them. Such germs threaten to return us to the time when people used to die from simple infections. Today, antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths every year in the United States.

High levels […]

By | September 21st, 2016|Preparedness|Comments Off on Join the Global Conversation about Antibiotic Resistance This Week

National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

footballSeptember is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and I am pleased to announce that we’ve seen the number of overweight or obese children decrease among our preschool children in the Arizona WIC Program from one in three to one in four.

Back in 2008, 29.4 percent of preschoolers in the Arizona WIC […]

By | September 20th, 2016|Prevention|Comments Off on National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month