General

Here you will find topics ranging from current events that affect public health in Arizona to overall information about the Arizona Department of Health Services

National H1N1 Vaccination Rates

By |2010-04-07T08:52:37-07:00April 7th, 2010|General, Preparedness|

The latest CDC Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report has the latest on the state-by-state H1N1 vaccination rates for kids as well as national percentages for healthcare workers.  Arizona had the highest vaccination rates for kids in the western U.S.  The national vaccination rates for healthcare workers were a little disappointing (about 40%)- but keep in [...]

Breakfast & Lunch

By |2017-02-10T09:52:20-07:00April 5th, 2010|General, Licensing, Prevention|

The US Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, passed legislation out of their Committee to reauthorize WIC and the other Child Nutrition Programs last week. It’s called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The bill http://ag.senate.gov/site/legislation.html includes the reauthorization of the free and reduced lunch and breakfast programs.  I was in DC a couple [...]

Comments Off on Breakfast & Lunch

Breakfast & Lunch

By |2017-02-10T09:52:21-07:00April 5th, 2010|General, Licensing, Prevention|

The US Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, passed legislation out of their Committee to reauthorize WIC and the other Child Nutrition Programs last week. It’s called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The bill http://ag.senate.gov/site/legislation.html includes the reauthorization of the free and reduced lunch and breakfast programs.  I was in DC a couple [...]

Comments Off on Breakfast & Lunch

Fighting Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

By |2017-02-10T09:52:21-07:00March 31st, 2010|General, Prevention|

Some of the best infection control experts are laying out the plan on how to fight Healthcare-Associated Infections in the next decade.  The International Conference on HAIs just wrapped up in Atlanta – it marked the first time that four leading scientific organizations committed to infection prevention are working together to further a scientific and [...]

Comments Off on Fighting Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

ADHS Budget Summary

By |2012-10-23T08:37:28-07:00March 29th, 2010|General|

I don’t have to tell you that we’ve faced unprecedented challenges over the last couple of years.  State revenues have declined for nearly 3 years now, and we’ve dramatically reduced our spending and staffing levels in an effort to bring spending in line with state revenues.  Excluding the money that goes toward the matching funds [...]

Comments Off on ADHS Budget Summary

Sunset Hearing

By |2017-02-10T09:52:22-07:00March 25th, 2010|General|

We had our agency Sunset Hearing last Wednesday in the Senate.  Every 10 years our agency comes up for a redetermination to see if the mission of the department is still necessary etc.  If so, then ADHS is “reauthorized”- hopefully for another 10 years.  The bill (HB 2029) passed out of the House several weeks [...]

Comments Off on Sunset Hearing

Furlough & Pay News

By |2010-03-24T08:43:08-07:00March 24th, 2010|General|

Performance Pay Reduction The state budget that was recently signed included an indefinite (probably permanent) suspension of performance pay (2.75%) beginning May 29.  The effective date of the  bill  (HB2003) is June 15- so that's the day that the reduction will be actually implemented.  But since this is in the middle of a pay period, we won't begin to actually [...]

Furlough & Pay News

By |2010-03-24T08:43:08-07:00March 24th, 2010|General|

Performance Pay Reduction The state budget that was recently signed included an indefinite (probably permanent) suspension of performance pay (2.75%) beginning May 29.  The effective date of the  bill  (HB2003) is June 15- so that's the day that the reduction will be actually implemented.  But since this is in the middle of a pay period, we won't begin to actually [...]

Budget Signed

By |2017-02-10T09:52:22-07:00March 19th, 2010|General|

Thursday afternoon the Governor signed the budget bills that the Legislature passed that prescribed budgets for the remaining part of FY 2010 and FY 2011.  The deal is complicated and contains lots of details.  Most of the provisions for our agency pertain to reductions in services that will begin next fiscal year (which starts July 1)- including orders to [...]

Comments Off on Budget Signed

SNAP Reform

By |2010-03-12T08:26:30-07:00March 12th, 2010|General, Prevention|

I met with the staff of most of the members of Arizona’s congressional delegation Wednesday in Washington DC at an event called Hill Day sponsored by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.  I used the opportunity to talk to them about nutritional policy issues like boosting the nutritional strength of the foods that are served under the free and reduced lunch [...]

Comments Off on SNAP Reform
Go to Top