Preparedness – Page 67 – AZ Dept. of Health Services News

Items in the Preparedness category will cover everything from Emergency Medical Services to vaccination programs. This division at ADHS tracks contagious disease, coordinates emergency preparedness activity, licenses EMTs and Paramedics, regulates ambulance companies, authorizes special hospital designations like cardiac care center and Level IV trauma center, issues birth and death certificates, and tracks critical health data through various sources including hospital discharge information.

Arizona Public Health Laboratory Selected to Assist in Developing New Technology

By Cory Nelson|2017-02-10T09:49:15-07:00March 18th, 2015|Preparedness|

In 1999 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Laboratory Response Network (LRN). The LRN’s purpose is to run a network of labs that can respond to biological and chemical threats, and other public health emergencies. The LRN has grown since its inception. It now includes state and local public health, veterinary, [...]

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Selection of the 2015-2016 Flu Vaccine Strains

By Cory Nelson|2017-02-10T09:49:15-07:00March 17th, 2015|Preparedness, Prevention|

This month, the FDA endorsed the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) recommendations for the 2015-2016 Northern Hemisphere flu vaccine. It may seem early to think about next year’s flu season when this season is just winding down; however, flu vaccine development and production takes about 6 months. So it is important to start now in order [...]

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Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness & Response Progress

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:15-07:00March 5th, 2015|Preparedness|

We’ve made a lot of progress implementing the provisions outlined by the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response late last year including: 1) successful designation of 2 hospitals; 2) receiving new funding to support accelerated infectious disease preparedness planning and response; and 3) approval of a new award to enhance hospital readiness. New [...]

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New Ambulance Company Approved to Operate in Maricopa County

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:16-07:00February 25th, 2015|Preparedness|

A few weeks ago I approved American Medical Response’s (AMR Maricopa) application to operate ambulances in Maricopa County, called a Certificate of Necessity or CON. While I approved the CON (after reviewing a host of evidence presented to an Administrative Law Judge and her Order) I didn’t actually issue the Certificate because of the administrative [...]

EMTALA & Ebola

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:16-07:00February 24th, 2015|General, Preparedness|

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires hospitals that accept Medicare payments to provide emergency healthcare to anybody regardless of citizenship or immigration status or their ability to pay. Under the law, hospitals that accept Medicare payments can’t transfer or discharge patients that need emergency treatment unless [...]

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AZ Measles Outbreak Winds Down

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:18-07:00February 13th, 2015|Preparedness, Prevention|

So far, there have been over a hundred cases of measles associated with Disneyland (including seven here in Arizona). We’re lucky no “third generation” cases have been found here (yet). Measles can take up to 21 days to develop in a person who has been exposed to the disease, so we’re not out of the [...]

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New Infectious Disease Preparedness & Response Funding on the Way

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:19-07:00February 2nd, 2015|Preparedness|

We just got word last month from the CDC that we qualify for new funding to support accelerated infectious disease preparedness planning and response. The total award for Arizona is about $2.5M, which enhances our total Preparedness grant award by about 10%. The new funding is scheduled to arrive in April and is on an 18 [...]

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Public Health Super Bowl Activities

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:19-07:00January 29th, 2015|Preparedness|

The federal government considers the Super Bowl to be an “event of national significance.” A host of public safety and health activities are implemented during events of national significance. Our (ADHS) activities began with the Pro Bowl last weekend and finish after the Super Bowl on February 1. We have 3 primary functions: BioWatch and Suspicious [...]

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Additional Measles Cases Found this Week

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:19-07:00January 28th, 2015|Preparedness, Prevention|

Last week I wrote about the 5 measles cases that we had identified as part of the nationwide Disneyland outbreak. Four of the AZ cases were among an unvaccinated Pinal County family that had visited Disneyland. This week over 1000 contacts were identified among our now 7 measles cases. Here’s a quick summary: One of [...]

AZ Interventions to Improve Vaccination Rates

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:19-07:00January 27th, 2015|Preparedness, Prevention|

Arizona law requires kids to get certain vaccines in order to attend school unless a doctor signs a medical exemption form or a parent signs a religious or personal belief exemption form. There’s been an increasing number of parents who are signing personal belief exemption forms - putting herd mmunity at risk. Every year we [...]

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