I’m proud of a ton of things that we’ve accomplished for the folks of Arizona over the last 2 ½ years together. Two of the things that I’m most proud of has been our collective ability to think clearly about ways that we can achieve better health outcomes in Arizona using creative thinking, enthusiasm and [...]
A trip to the emergency room with a sick or injured child is one of a parent’s worst nightmares, but it’s not uncommon. Last year in Arizona there were just over 400,000 emergency department visits by children ages 0–14. Not all hospital emergency rooms are equally equipped to provide care specific to children. Arizona is [...]
Last week the Teen Lifeline rolled out its new public service announcement (PSA) featuring Bridget Pettis from the Phoenix Mercury. Teens attending rallies at Desert Ridge and Tempe Marketplace, as well as 1,500 middle school aged youth attending a bullying prevention event with the Mercury at US Airways were able to view the PSA. This PSA was [...]
Just a few hours ago we learned that we closed the deal on the highly competitive portion of a new home visiting grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services. We're one of 9 states that'll be awarded the competitive portion of the grant. We'll receive $9.4M a year for four years for a total of more than $36M to implement a maternal, infant, [...]
Guest blog by: From the Division of Behavioral Health Services Let’s Celebrate Wellness this Week! You are invited to join Arizonans this FRIDAY, September 23 to participate in the Line Dance for Wellness and Recovery which will be held at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza (next to the Capitol Lawn in Phoenix) and at DeMeester [...]
We’ve had to make lots of difficult decisions in response to the ongoing funding shortfalls in our behavioral health system (as well as everywhere in state government). Many decisions (while painful in the short term) have been necessary to maintain long term system stability as Arizona continues to emerge from this unprecedented fiscal crisis. While [...]
Next month, the U of A College of Medicine Phoenix is going to host a lecture about marijuana and whether it is medicine. Dr. Sue Sisley, St. Joseph’s Hospital, will be giving the presentation at the Phoenix Theatre on October 11th at 5:30. In an earlier blog, Dr. Laura Nelson, ADHS’s Chief Medical Officer, and [...]
For years, you’ve heard that you should take your health care into your own hands. It may soon be easier because HHS wants you to be able to access your electronic health care records. One key argument to give people access is if they know what is there, they’ll ask better questions or even make notes [...]
Do you know someone who’s pregnant and needs help finding low-cost prenatal care? Someone looking for post-partum depression resources; help with breastfeeding; low-cost dental care; or the nearest WIC clinic? One great resource that can help is our Pregnancy & Breastfeeding Hotline. The Hotline (1-800-833-4642) is a statewide service funded by our Title V Maternal and [...]
Remember our responses to the 2009-2010 H1N1 Pandemic? One of the reasons why Arizona’s public health responses were so effective was that we had a well researched and tested pandemic readiness plan. But... public health readiness isn’t a static process, and once the pandemic was finished we set out to revise our plan with lessons learned. Over [...]
