We’ve had a great run together since I accepted the Interim ADHS Director position 6 years ago. I’m grateful to all of you for trusting me in this important position and for working together for the benefit of the folks of Arizona. We’ve made tremendous progress toward our Vision of Health and Wellness for all [...]
Last September the Arizona State Hospital (ASH) was inspected (surveyed) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The survey team can review over 20 different areas and three were identified that we needed to address: Governing Body, Patient Rights, and Nursing Services. In December, we developed and implemented a Plan of Correction which [...]
The Patients and Hospital Rehab Departments at the Hospital are working together with the Phoenix Rescue Mission (homeless shelter) to create Blessing Bags. Blessing Bags are large gallon sized Ziploc bags filled with basic necessities which will be handed out by the Phoenix Rescue Mission to the homeless. But they need some donations to get [...]
It’s been a busy week for our medical marijuana team. Our 2-week dispensary application period ended a couple of hours ago… as did the hearing regarding adding new debilitating medical conditions. We received 484 dispensary applications over the last 2 weeks. As you know, we have 126 Community Health Analysis Areas (CHAAs) and a maximum [...]
Do you think you can help us in “Promoting Health and Wellness for all Arizonans”. That’s the motto here at ADHS and we are looking for a new leader to join our Behavioral Health team. We’re looking for an Assistant Director who is insightful and can see the forest and trees at the same time. [...]
Update: We were incorrect in the earlier posting about free access to HBO. In fact, if you are not an HBO subscriber, you can watch the documentary online for free here: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/ We don’t shy away from tough battles in public health. Through the last century, we’ve tackled all types of diseases, worked with public [...]
“Promoting Health and Wellness for all Arizonans" is the motto of the Arizona Department of Health Services. We promote and protect the health of Arizona's children and adults and set the standard for personal and community health through direct care, science, public policy and leadership. Want a piece of the action? We’re looking for an [...]
One of the missing ingredients in medical marijuana has been peer-reviewed science- but there is some out there. Studies are happening across the country to see how marijuana impacts and interacts with other drugs. One small-scale study done by UC San Francisco recently suggests using marijuana with opiates allowed some patients to reduce the amount of opiates needed to [...]
Check our excellent new web page about the history of the AZ State hospital. The stuff on the new hospital history page is fascinating. One of the things that struck me is that the issues of concern to the Superintendent of the Hospital 100 years ago were remarkable similar to today. The 100 year old [...]
As you know from earlier blog posts a judge ruled in a state case that had challenged our dispensary applicant selection criteria. The judge’s decision basically struck down several of the selection criteria we had been planning to use to for competitive areas of the state (areas where there will be more than 1 applicant [...]
