During the development of the Arizona State Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP), workgroups identified strategies that would cut across several of the leading health issues, impacting one or more of them. These cross-cutting strategies target worksite wellness, school health, and the Built Environment. Last week, we hosted a webinar with leadership partners from the Arizona Department [...]
Did you know that chlamydia is the most commonly reported notifiable disease in the United States and in Arizona? Did you know that gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported notifiable disease in the United States and in Arizona? In 2014, a total of 1,441,789 cases of chlamydia and 350,062 cases of gonorrhea were reported to the CDC. Of [...]
Last week the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program turned five. Voters passed Proposition 203 in the fall of 2010, making Arizona the fourteenth state to legalize medical marijuana. Within 120 days of Proposition 203 passing, we developed the Medical Marijuana Program and issued the first medical marijuana card to a qualifying patient on April 14, 2011. As of today, there [...]
April 24 through 30 is National Laboratory Professionals Week, a time for us to take a moment to thank our hard-working laboratory staff. This week we will celebrate the vital contributions laboratory professionals make to protect public health and safety. Our Public Health Lab is a leader in Arizona and the United States. In March [...]
In 2013, our Licensing and Infectious Disease Services teams partnered with the Healthcare Associated Infections Advisory Committee to develop a day-long ADVICE Collaborative conference aimed at improving infection control practices. The ADVICE Collaborative brings together licensed dialysis providers, the dialysis network, federal partners and public health professionals to find new ways to promote infection control, build relationships, and identify [...]
Recently our informatics staff in the Office of Infectious Disease Services partnered with hospital IT staff to add two more hospitals to BioSense, the national syndromic surveillance system. We now have 26 hospitals sharing information about all their emergency department visits, including the chief complaint, diagnoses, and patient demographics. We use BioSense to understand what [...]
Governor Doug Ducey has named three new Commissioners to the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission. The new Commissioners are: John Cover, who will represent the medical community; Howard Eng, who will represent the scientific community; and Cosmo Magliozzi who will serve as a public member. The Commissioners guide the work of ABRC by establishing research priorities and [...]
This week, Arizona confirmed a case of rabies in a horse from Santa Cruz County . This is the first case of rabies in a domestic animal in Arizona since 2009. The horse became sick and was eventually euthanized. Public health is assessing the risk of exposure for all people involved in caring for and [...]
On April 7, the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission and University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix held the inaugural 2016 Arizona Cord Blood Conference: Lifeline to the Future. The conference brought together policy makers, patients and their families, researchers, and clinicians together to build awareness of collecting umbilical cord blood and create a cohesive network supporting the Arizona Public [...]
We’re kicking of National Infant Immunization Week this week and are excited to recognize the healthcare providers, public health workers, and parents who protect our babies and communities from preventable diseases through vaccination. Without these immunization champions, our Arizona communities would be at a much greater risk of infectious disease outbreaks. Last week, we celebrated [...]
