Now that the weather has finally broken here in the desert you can visit your local farmers market without having to get up at the crack of dawn. Check out our Farmers’ Market Locator to find the nearest farmers market. Simply go to the application link and put in any address and city and push “Find Market”. The program will [...]
Thanks to the 2009 Vital Statistics report, we also know that AZ residents went to the ER more than 1.8 million times. The top reasons (about 25%) for those visits were abdominal pain, acute upper respiratory infection, chest pain, cuts, mental disorders, and spinal disorders. More than 1,300 Arizonans were treated in an emergency room for [...]
More interesting information from Vital Statistics– this time about babies and births in Arizona. The number of births each year in AZ has been on a downward trend for the last couple of years, and 2009 was no exception. There were a lot fewer babies born in 2009 (92,616) than in 2007 (102,687)- which is [...]
When we implemented our Salt Initiative earlier this year we asked people to know their blood pressure and consider reducing their sodium intake by shopping more carefully and preparing recipes that are lower in sodium. One of the main messages was to encourage people to know their own blood pressure. Then it occurred to me- [...]
As predicted by our 1990 ADHS Vital Statistics Bureau in 1990- cancer is now the number one killer in Arizona – surpassing heart disease. Does this mean that cancer is getting worse? Probably not- it really says that because of better management, treatment, and prevention of heart disease- people with heart conditions are living longer. [...]
Some of the most important words in the 13-page Arizona Medical Marijuana Act are: “Physician Patient Relationship” and “A Full Assessment of the Qualifying Patient’s Medical History”. The real gatekeepers that’ll determine which applicants ultimately would qualify for a medical marijuana card are Arizona MDs, DOs, Naturopaths and Homeopaths, as they evaluate their patient's medical [...]
Healthcare-associated infections claim more lives in Arizona every year than auto accidents or influenza. Surprised? That’s why the Governor issued a proclamation making this week as Infection Prevention week in Arizona- providing us with an opportunity to call attention to one of the CDC’s Winnable Battles- defeating Healthcare-Associated Infections. We had a news conference (along with [...]
The Licensing Division, Office of Medical Facilities recently presented extensive technical assistance during the Arizona Ambulatory Surgery Center Association Fall Conference this month. Staff from the Licensing Division including Tucson and Phoenix Surveyors as well as Life Safety Code Surveyors and State Architects provided information to about 180 participants. Topics included the state of current [...]
Preventing teen pregnancies could save Arizona more than $180M/year. Teen mothers face higher rates of preterm birth, and their kids have higher rates of low birth weight and infant death. Compared to women who delay childbearing until the age of 20 to 21 years, teenage moms are more likely to drop out of high school and to [...]
The State Hospital folks have been very generous with their clothing donations to ICM as part of our SECC campaign. In one week our Hospital folks donated a completely full pickup load of clothes etc. that went to ICM for distribution to needy folks. Awesome job- thanks. I also had an opportunity to do a [...]
