The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is offering free lead screening of drinking water fixtures and faucets for Arizona schools and child care facilities as part of a nationwide program that was established by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. ADHS received about [...]
Starting this month, ADHS will be launching a project to screen water in many licensed child care facilities for lead. Our Child Care Licensing surveyors will collect water from a sample of drinking water sources at facilities while they’re out to conduct facility inspections. The surveyors will bring the water samples to our Arizona State [...]
Note: This week is National Public Health Week. This week I have a five-part public health series that explores the vast network of programs and services that help improve the health and wellness of all Arizonans. Public health includes programs that work to ensure that we are safe whether in everyday life or during an [...]
Our disease detectives at the state and counties are at it again, investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157 . We are working with Arizona’s counties, other states, CDC, and regulatory agencies to determine the source of the outbreak. E. coli O157 is a strain that causes diarrhea, often bloody, along with abdominal cramps, headache, [...]
Back to school time may bring on some new routines and new child care needs for your family. Whether it is full-time child care being provided in a child care center or certified small group home, Head Start program, or after-school program for our older kiddos, we only want the best for our next generation. [...]
Our Empower program is hosting its second annual conference Empowering Habits, Empowering Lives: Super Heroes in Action on May 4. The conference is a great opportunity for providers in Early Care and Education settings to learn the new 10 Empower standards that have been established for 2013. The conference sessions will also equip participants with [...]
The role of a surveyor can be a difficult one. Our team of licensing surveyors need to maintain neutrality as regulators and be able to apply the Arizona Administrative Code (otherwise known as “the rules”) to a wide variety of facilities within the healthcare system. Part of our surveillance includes investigating complaints- which can be generated from [...]
The First Lady’s Let’s Move! Child Care initiative recognized our Empower program for exceptional work to promote young children’s health and prevent childhood obesity in the early care and education setting last week. We were selected for recognition for carrying out exceptional work to promote and implement the goals of Let’s Move! Child Care, including using [...]
Colby Bower will serve as our Interim Assistant Director for Licensing while we recruit and hire a permanent Assistant Director. Colby has been serving as our Legislative Affairs chief for the last couple of years. Colby fills several of the criteria that we needed for the interim post: 1) He’s a good risk manager and [...]
“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 [...]
