Posts Tagged ‘health’

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AZ Cities’ General Plan Schedules

May 2nd, 2013

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 involved with making their community healthier.  And remember there are excellent tools out there to help folks think through community design. 

Mesa has a website called This is My Mesa that gives their folks an opportunity to share their vision of a healthy community.  Check out the “News” and “Get Involved” tabs to look for upcoming events and ways to participate. Mesa has gone one step further and created  Idea Site. Through September you can share your ideas about what you want in your Mesa…  and voice your thoughts about how health can tie into the city’s General Plan. 

Tempe has an online forum where community members can share their 30-year vision for Tempe and can help craft a plan that makes Tempe a healthier community.  Information about upcoming meetings and the logistics of Tempe’s 2040 General Plan can be found on the City of Tempe website under the Community Development page. Keep your eyes open… there will be a process for public comment and involvement. The Council is scheduled to adopt the plan in late 2013 & Tempe residents are scheduled to vote on the General Plan in May 2014. 

Scottsdale has a website called Scottsdale General Plan, Your Plan, Your Future where community members can stay informed about Scottsdale’s 2014 General Plan. During late January and early February, a group of Scottsdale citizens came together to develop a draft vision statement for the 2014 General Plan…  which you can read and comment on here.  Community engagement will continue throughout 2013, with the General Plan public hearing and adoption process in late 2013 and early 2014. Scottsdale residents will vote on their Plan in August of 2014. 

Phoenix is in the middle of developing their General Plan- and 2013 is the year of heavy lifting.  They have a website called My Plan PHX which serves as their General Plan info hub.  Their “How it Works” site is a good place to start.  A good next step is to go to the Conserve Create ConnectPHX site and weigh in on the development and recreational ideas proposed by others- or post your own ideas.  

The General Plan outlines the plans for your city’s future. What better way is there to create the healthy environment you want to live and grow in over the next 10, 20, or 30 years? 

 

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Healthy Kids

April 30th, 2013

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 find information regarding the American Academy of Pediatrics’ programs and activities.  In it, you’ll find evidence-based policies and guidelines, publications, and other child health resources.  When you get your info from the Healthy Children website you can be confident that what you’ll get has been examined by the nation’s leading child health experts and that the info has its roots in science.

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Guide to Community Prevention Services

October 3rd, 2012

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 help you choose programs and policies to improve health and prevent disease in communities.  The easy to read resource guide answers questions like: 1) Which program and policy interventions have been proven effective; 2) Are there effective interventions that are right for my community; and 3) What might effective interventions cost and what’s the return on investment? 

There are modules on different public health topics- and the evidence-based information is printed in colorful, easy-to-read formats.  Subjects include much of our core strategic plan activities in health and wellness including: Adolescent Health; Alcohol; Asthma; Birth Defects; Cancer; Cardiovascular Disease; Diabetes; Emergency Preparedness; Health Communication; Health Equity; HIV/AIDS,STD’s, Pregnancy; Mental Health; Motor Vehicle Injury; Nutrition; Obesity; Oral Health; Physical Activity; Social Environment; Tobacco Use; Vaccines; Violence; and Worksites.  Learn more about The Community Guide, collaborators involved in its development and dissemination, and methods used to conduct the systematic reviews.

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Working Together

September 24th, 2012

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 just what one of our new Tucson licensees did about our staff.  Congratulations to our Behavioral Health leaders – Tammy, Ann &  Dianne.

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Posted in Behavioral Health, Licensing

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All Aboard the Transformation Express

August 23rd, 2012

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 whole health. 

For the past 7 months internal and external stakeholders have been meeting and meticulously going over each regulation to ensure a strong rule set, general applicability, integration, and a significant focus on health and safety.  We’re about half-way through the process of creating initial drafts, and there’s plenty of time for input. Current drafts are posted that pertain to Level 1 Sub-Acute, Residential, and DUI subclasses of behavioral health licensing. 

In the following months, domestic violence, adult therapeutic and outpatient will be tackled. You can provide ongoing input electronically through survey monkey at the following links:  DUI Facility Draft Rules and the  Level 1 Sub-Acute and Residential Facility Draft Rules.  Remember every piece of feedback counts! So get involved and together we can develop rules that showcase our commitment to Health and Wellness for all Arizonans.

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Health Disparities

July 27th, 2012

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 and improve health status for vulnerable populations in Arizona.   A wide range of speakers have presented and shared their knowledge and expertise. So far, nine sessions have been conducted, and three more sessions are on the way. Continuing education credits are available for all the sessions.  Two PBS documentary programs, Race: The Power of an Illusion and UNNATURAL CAUSES are being used to guide an open discussion about race and the impact of social determinants on health. 

Employees are encouraged to attend these dynamic and informative sessions for their professional development. Contact Hong Chartrand from the Arizona Health Disparities Center for more information.

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Tightening AZ’s Waistline

May 22nd, 2012

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 of many success stories in Arizona.  We’ve created a website that collects stories like Matt’s as well as success stories from communities across the state.  Let us know what you’ve done to make a difference in your community – together we can put the brakes on the growth of obesity and work for people to have health at every size.  You can watch the documentary online for free here: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/.  The full report and supporting materials, including recommendations on promoting physical activity and supporting healthy eating and healthy weights, are available online.

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ADHS Looking for a Forward-thinking Assistant Director

May 8th, 2012

“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 experienced and proactive leader to become our new Assistant Director for Licensing Services. This key position reports directly to me and manages six different state and federal licensing units including Long Term Care, Medical Facilities, Child Care, Assisted Living, Behavioral Health, and Special Licensing.  The job oversees about 200 employees and a budget of $17M.  But- what makes the job exciting is that you’ll have a unique opportunity to lead a dynamic team and use your talents and skills to make Arizona a healthier place- “Promoting Health and Wellness for All Arizonans”.

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Licensing Does Whatever it Takes

March 20th, 2012

The opening of a new hospital last week in Florence was anything but usual for folks in our Licensing Division.  Since the hospital will also take care of prisoners, the staff had to work closely on the floor plan to make sure it met both medical and security needs.  The hospital had to be able to serve all patients, but needed to have extreme security to protect health and safety of all patients as well.  Thanks to their hard work – there are now twice the number of hospital beds available in Florence!  

Thanks to the licensing architects in Special Licensing: Rohno Geppert, Lois Adams, Savita Chandragiri, Connie Belden, Shirley Newman, and Nancy Klaum from Medical Licensing as well as Tom Salow and his team in Rules- Good Work!

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Recovery Through Whole Health RFI

February 9th, 2012

We’ll be having a “Request For Information” session regarding our “ Recovery Through Whole Health, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority with Health Homes” project (a.k.a. the upcoming Request for Proposal for behavioral health services in Maricopa County) on March 21 from 1- 5 pm at the Radisson City Center at 3600 N. 2nd Ave. in Phoenix.

We’ll have more details about the event in March through an official notice from ADHS via the State of Arizona e‐procurement system, ProcureAZ and on our Integration Website.   Folks can also register at https://procure.az.gov/bso/ under commodity code 952‐08 to receive the “official” notice of the RFI.

This will be a relatively informal event where we’ll provide some information about the project and our expectations…  and it’ll provide an opportunity for potential bidders, other behavioral health providers and consumers, peers and family members to ask questions about the project.  We don’t expect to be asking for written responses – again, this will be a relatively informal affair.

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Posted in Behavioral Health, Licensing

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