The Governor signed the budget this week - here's a look at how some of it affects public health: Behavioral Health Services for folks that don’t Qualify for Medicaid The budget that was just signed includes about $39M in new funding for services for folks with a serious mental illness that don’t qualify for Medicaid. [...]
Dr. Nelson wrote a great blog this week that discusses the behavioral health aspects of the Governor’s 2012 State of the State Address which was followed by the release of her policy agenda called The Four Cornerstones of Reform: Centennial Edition. Please visit Dr. Nelson’s blog for the details of the Governor’s remarks about behavioral [...]
Although we know a lot about the role of proper nutrition, exercise and general health in having a healthy baby, occasionally a baby is born with a special health condition or a birth defect. Our Newborn Screening Program tests babies for 29 special health conditions including hearing loss. These conditions, like phenylketonuria (PKU), can be [...]
Medical Marijuana will be implemented in April, 2011. The coordination of tasks to ensure smooth and efficient implementation is a huge goal for 2011 and cuts across Bureau lines, involving many distinct portions of not only Public Health Preparedness but the Agency as a whole. Emergency Medical Services Within the Bureau of Emergency Services and [...]
Last year Arizona welcomed about 98,000 newborns to our world. Our Newborn Screening Program (in the State Laboratory) ensures that each newborn is tested for 28 inherited disorders and hearing problems. The goal is to help kids avoid illness, developmental delays and even death. Teamwork, communication and coordination are to critical in making this program [...]
We’ve got a lot to be proud of over the last year and an half. It’s been hard, I know because of all of the budget reductions and the lower staffing level. On the other hand, we’ve got an incredible mission and we’re doing a good job. I often tell people that we work in [...]
We started on this journey together a year ago. Thanks for being such good traveling companions. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve had challenges, fears, anxiety, good times, laughs, & fun. We’ve sacrificed some of our programs, but we’ve made a great deal of progress too. Overall- the year was a net plus. I say [...]
NaCl It’s been no secret that the U.S. (and Arizona) diet is high in salt- and almost 90% of that salt comes from pre-processed foods (as opposed to the salt that you might add while cooking or eating). Reducing dietary salt is an important public health target- and it’s among one of the cheapest and [...]
NaCl It’s been no secret that the U.S. (and Arizona) diet is high in salt- and almost 90% of that salt comes from pre-processed foods (as opposed to the salt that you might add while cooking or eating). Reducing dietary salt is an important public health target- and it’s among one of the cheapest and [...]
