An investigative article published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a couple of weeks ago has triggered a state by state assessment of newborn screening programs across the country. Arizona is no exception. Our newborn screening and maternal and child health teams have been reviewing our procedures and looking for ways to improve Arizona’s performance. For example, several Arizona [...]
A cooperative partnership between Arizona and Sonora highlights the importance of a safe ride home for all children and their families. Car seat use in Arizona is about 90%, yet car seat use in Sonora is less than 20%. A lot of this is because car seats cost more in Mexico than they do in [...]
Arizona and Sonora have a long history of collaborating on many projects over the years. We long ago understood that disease doesn't stop at the border. Arizona and Sonora were the 1st states along the U.S.-Mexico Border to share information on cross border cases in an organized way. Since 2008, we’ve been sharing this information electronically [...]
We and Magellan Health Services of Arizona will host a webinar-based panel discussion on suicide prevention and intervention entitled "Closing the Gap to Zero Suicides" on World Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10). The webinar will feature a panel of leaders from our team, Magellan, and the Veterans Administration. The discussion will run from 10 - 11 [...]
The core of our decision-making as an agency relies on evidence. Evidence can be scientific like surveillance or research or it can be administrative or financial. Whichever way you slice it- the key is to get good reliable information so that our teams can make effective decisions as we execute our mission. One of the [...]
The American Medical Association voted to recognize obesity as a disease this week. This is an important change… because the term “disease” in the managed care world means that that prevention and treatment is more medically necessary, justifying reimbursement for necessary interventions. If obesity isn't a disease then I don't know what is. Obesity has [...]
Heat is the number one killer among all weather related causes of death across the country and in Arizona… more than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires combined. It doesn’t get much attention because it’s hard to take a picture of heat- but it’s easy to take a picture of hurricanes and tropical storms. The AZ [...]
The March edition of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Program’s Issue Brief highlights the great strides Arizona has made in decreasing neonatal deaths since the inception of our High Risk Perinatal Program/Newborn Intensive Care Program. When the program started in the 1970s, 1.8% of neonates died within a month of being born. As a [...]
If you live in or have visited the rural towns and cities in Arizona, it’s not a surprise that many of these rural locations don’t have enough healthcare providers. Based on current provider shortage data from the federal HRSA, we need an additional 170 primary care providers and 54 mental health providers to adequately care [...]
It’s unusual to go through a day without reading, referencing, or interacting on social media. For many, it’s become the preferred source for news, visiting with friends and family both close and far away, and accessing services. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, G+, Flickr—the list is endless—offer online connectivity that was only imagined not long ago. [...]
