Our team from Environmental Health was in the Dewey-Humboldt area at their elementary school gym providing free blood lead tests for area kids. There's been some community concerns about possible lead poisoning in children because of the nearby Iron King Mine and a smelter that once operated in the area. Lead poisoning in AZ (we have about 300 cases [...]
Dietitians are a core public health asset- and one in short supply to boot. We’re trying to do something about that shortage with our new “WIC Track” initiative. We’re partnering with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health Dietetic Internship to offer a "WIC Track” internship. It’s open to any eligible (have completed a Bachelor's [...]
Over the past several months our Public Health Emergency Preparedness team has been integrating 2 big federal disaster preparedness grants- the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program from the CDC and the Hospital Preparedness Program from HHS. The initiative involves coordinating emergency planning between healthcare facilities, local public health departments, emergency management agencies, tribal partners and [...]
We learned some sad and shocking news this morning that Alan Oppenheim (our ADHS Acting Assistant Director for Licensing) passed away this weekend. Alan was an excellent leader and manager- but much more importantly- he was a really good person. He always cared about others and asked lots of questions about what was going on. [...]
Our Public Health Prevention folks launched an exciting new initiative to improve health outcomes for Arizonans this month called the Arizona Population Health Policy Initiative. This new partnership (with Arizona’s local county health departments) is focused on achieving targeted improvements in health outcomes for Arizonans by advancing evidence-based strategies which address community design, school health, [...]
It's always a good idea to periodically look at why you are doing something and see if something might be different -just in case you need to change course. Public health does that with many things - this week, we take a look at infant immunizations and the value they play in protecting the little [...]
The voter approved language in the AZ Medical Marijuana Act directs us to periodically accept and evaluate petitions to add new debilitating medical conditions. We’ve made it through the first phase of considering whether to add 4 new debilitating conditions… 1) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; 2) Generalized Anxiety Disorder; 3) Migraines; and 4) Depression. You’ll [...]
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Dr. David Lakey, this year’s President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials has selected the Healthy Babies Project for his national initiative- challenging each state to implement strategies to reduce prematurity and infant mortality based on successful national, regional, and state efforts to improve [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services released final regulations to implement Insurance Exchanges under the ACA. The regulations spell out the standards for establishing and operating “one-stop” marketplaces, qualifications for health insurance plan participation, exchange health plan and subsidy eligibility determination for individuals, and criteria for small business eligibility and participation. Certain provisions of the [...]
One of the best ways to improve outcomes for kids that have a medical emergency is to have a statewide network of emergency departments that focus on specific “kid-based” criteria for training, equipment, and facilities. Arizona is now one of only 5 states that have implemented a specialized pediatric emergency care system- a system that [...]
