Today we published Arizona’s first ever comprehensive State Health Assessment. The objective of the State Health Assessment is to give Arizona’s public health and health care systems a clear tool to help drive future decision-making and resource allocation as we collectively design and implement evidence-based interventions to improve health and wellness outcomes across Arizona. The [...]
Congratulations to Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA) for gaining national recognition for its work- snagging the 2013 National Affiliate of the Year Award from the American Public Health Association. For 85 years, AzPHA has helped shape public health in Arizona working to create smoke-free environments and access to healthcare. In this year alone, the Arizona affiliate [...]
Summer is almost here and the kids are wrapping up the school year. Let’s challenge families to end the school year on the right foot. Why not try walking or biking to school? The mornings are still nice enough to walk. Make it a family activity; role model healthy behavior, leave the car keys at [...]
A city’s General Plan is one tool for communities to define how they want their city or town to grow and improve population health. Currently, Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, and Scottsdale are updating their General Plans, and each city has a variety of resources that give community members the opportunity to share their opinions and get [...]
Looking for Gold Standard information to help you be the best parent you can be when it comes to your kid’s health and wellness? Whether you're looking for basic child health info or detailed guidance about parenting issues, look no further than HealthyChildren.org, which is the only parenting web site backed by 60,000 pediatricians. You'll [...]
Every so often- you run into a resource guide that stands above the rest. I discovered one of those a couple of weeks ago when I was at a conference with the people in my job from around the country. It’s called the Guide to Community Preventive Services – and it’s a free resource to [...]
I've written many times about how important it is that we work with our partners to protect the health and safety of the people of Arizona. It’s our responsibility to take advantage of opportunities to teach and practice what we preach. It’s nice when someone outside acknowledges when someone goes above and beyond which is [...]
I’ve written several times about the importance of laying the strong foundation for integration effort through our rule making process. Three drafts in and countless hours later, the behavioral health integration rulemaking process is beginning to take shape. It was just last fall when we took the show on the road and traveled the state promoting [...]
Lots of risk factors contribute to health disparities… and many of the risk factors are called "social determinants of health." A couple of months ago we (with our community partners), launched the Social Determinants of Health educational series to boost professional development and program planning so Arizona’s public health team can better address health equity [...]
The CDC, along with HBO, The Institutes of Medicine and several private partners created a series of documentaries, called Weight of the Nation which aired last week, but you can still watch them all online. We wrote a feature about our own Matt Gainey- who made tremendous strides to change his health. Matt is just one [...]
