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
This week we took a huge step forward in our efforts to keep kids safe on both sides of the border. Rural Metro was helping us transport child car seats to Mexico as part of our commitment to A Safe Ride Home. Last year during the Arizona Mexico Commission’s summer plenary session, we signed an [...]
Arizona's Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) is moving from paper checks to an electronic system thanks to a $5M grant we received from USDA this week. WIC electronic benefit transfer (or EBT) will provide enhanced service and benefits to participants, clinic staff, and WIC vendors (grocery stores authorized to accept Arizona WIC benefits). Stores in Arizona that provide WIC services sell [...]
Our Office of Children with Special Healthcare Needs has been working with UnitedHealthcare Community Plans and the AHCCCS to support an important free Conference on July 25 to improve the care delivery system in Arizona for children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities and their families. The goal of the free Conference [...]
I've fallen off ladders at my house twice in the last month which has inspired me to do a post about falls and injuries. The #1 reason people show up in Arizona emergency rooms is from slipping, tripping or stumbling on something. Falls are the #2 cause of accidental death in Arizona…with 870 deaths recorded [...]
In recent years, a prevention model of health has woven its way into the fabric of traditional models of care. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act the role preventive services has expanded significantly in the US health care delivery system. Preventive health care services prevent diseases and illnesses from happening in the first [...]
Last December I denied a petition to add Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify people for an Arizona Medical Marijuana Registration Card. I denied the petition because, at the time, I believed there was a lack of scientific evidence to document whether Cannabis is helpful or not to [...]
When you shop for a new car, phone or camera, you have lots of information about your choices. But when it comes to choosing the right medicine or the best health- care treatment, clear information can be hard to find. Let’s face it, if you don't get the best possible information about your treatment choices, [...]
My wife has been disturbed by the number of scorpions she's seen around our house and garage over the last couple of weeks which has inspired me to do this scorpion post. Arizona has more than 56 species of scorpions but the bark scorpion is the biggie. Since you live in the bark scorpion’s territory, you probably [...]
HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality just released the Asthma Return-on-Investment (ROI) Calculator for exploring potential financial returns from quality improvement and disease management programs for populations diagnosed with asthma. The tool provides estimates based on an analysis of 52 research studies on improving asthma care and what those studies imply for cost savings. [...]
Summer’s here, and we know what that means…West Nile virus season. West Nile virus is most commonly spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. However, not every mosquito can carry West Nile virus. There are 40 different species of mosquitoes in Arizona, but only 2 transmit West Nile virus (WNV) to humans effectively, Culex tarsalis and Culex quinquefasciatus [...]
