Arizona law requires that all children attending school or child care must obtain certain vaccines, unless they are exempted by a doctor for medical purposes, or by a parent for personal reasons. Schools are required to collect a copy of immunization records, or signed exemption forms, for each student. Each year, immunization information for all [...]
April 23 through 29 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 Laboratory is a leader in Arizona and the United States. For [...]
Representatives from more than 100 organizations will gather in Phoenix to accelerate the improvement of the state’s food system this Thursday and Friday. The 2017 Arizona Food Summit is part of the ongoing work between the Department of Agriculture and the Arizona Department of Health Services to reduce food insecurity in the state. Connecting Arizonans [...]
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be held Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs. You can find a drop off location in your area online. If you are downtown this weekend, there will be a take back drug [...]
Last week, we hosted our 24th annual Arizona Immunization Conference. About 400 partners from doctor’s offices, healthcare clinics, and state, local, and tribal agencies came together to learn and share best practices and current information about vaccination. These immunization heroes devote their time daily to ensure they are shielding Arizona communities from dangerous vaccine preventable [...]
When people are diagnosed with a disease that can affect their development such as Autism spectrum disorder, it is important they work with specialists who can provide the proper therapy. People with social communication difficulties, as seen with Autism spectrum disorder experience, have trouble using verbal and nonverbal communication in social settings. Speech-language pathologists can assess, [...]
Did you know that syphilis can cause serious health problems if left untreated or isn’t treated correctly? These serious health problems, like syphilis of the eye, are increasing among both men and women. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, but can also be spread from a mother to her unborn baby, known as congenital syphilis. [...]
Although sexual assault can be an uncomfortable topic, not talking about it is worse. Without open discussion regarding this social and public health issue, some people cannot understand how often it happens. The impact of being a victim of sexual assault can have long term effects on the life of a victim psychologically and/or physically [...]
On April 13, the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission and the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix held the Second Annual Arizona Cord Blood Conference: Blazing Frontiers. The Arizona Public Cord Blood Program was created to advance the collection of and increase the number of cord blood units available for transplantation. Umbilical cord blood, [...]
April 22 through 29 is National Infant Immunization Week, an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases. During that week we also celebrate the achievements of immunization programs in promoting healthy communities throughout the United States. Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing [...]
