I often write about the benefits and leverage we can achieve for our public health goals by partnering with external organizations and Stakeholders, but sometimes the collaborative initiatives are with ourself. Our Medical Facility Licensing and Emergency Preparedness teams have been working with our licensed facilities to figure out what they’d need in terms of [...]
Mental Health First Aid is a novel, evidence-based public education program designed to teach non-professional people a five-step process to assess a situation, select and implement appropriate interventions, and help a person in crisis or who may be developing the signs and symptoms of mental illness. The groundbreaking training equips people to provide initial help [...]
We had the second of four public hearings on the draft rules in Tempe on Tuesday afternoon. We got a lot of good input from folks and there were some good suggestions to improve the draft rule. The most valuable comments came from people that offered concrete ideas for ways we can improve the rule's [...]
Maricopa County Department of Public Health (and our Lab) confirmed a case of measles in an Arizona resident this week. Measles is one of the most communicable diseases there is (next to chicken pox). It’s a viral disease of the upper respiratory system that’s spread in the air via droplets. Measles starts with a fever [...]
Last week I wrote about our Behavioral Health Outcomes Dashboard <https://directorsblog.health.azdhs.gov/?p=1117> - which highlights our efforts to shift our performance measures toward actual outcomes. In other words, we want to measure whether the services we provide actually help folks achieve their goals rather than whether someone’s paperwork is right. The same is true for public [...]
We’ve made a strong effort in the past couple years to make sure that we are doing our best to protect the health and safety of people in our licensed facilities. Whenever possible, we work to help those facilities come into compliance with our rules, but sometimes we have no choice but to drop the [...]
We’ll be holding four public comment meetings for the Medical Marijuana Rules next week. Public comment meetings are the part of the Rulemaking process whereby “an agency shall afford persons the opportunity to submit in writing statements, arguments, data and views on the proposed rule, with or without the opportunity to present them orally”. We [...]
Those of you that were working here in 2009 (or even if you weren’t) probably remember all of the angst and unrest that occurred when we increased our licensing fees for child care facilities (for the first time in over 20 years). The goal was to have licensing fee revenues cover the actual costs incurred [...]
Reports from Washington today say the President hasn't smoked in almost a year. He said last summer he's spent his adult life trying to give up cigarettes. Research shows that quitting is easier if you have help - Arizona Smokers' Helpline can help you. We have resources on the phone, online and even medication to [...]
Although we know a lot about the role of proper nutrition, exercise and general health in having a healthy baby, occasionally a baby is born with a special health condition or a birth defect. Our Newborn Screening Program tests babies for 29 special health conditions including hearing loss. These conditions, like phenylketonuria (PKU), can be [...]
