Last month I wrote about how we are working on revising our Newborn Screening rules because of a change in state law. The changes include requiring hearing tests on all newborns, adding critical congenital heart defects screening and adding a screening for severe combined immunodeficiency started January 2016. The last test depends on whether we [...]
Our Vital Health Statistics team along with our partners at the UA College of Public Health completed our Medical Marijuana Program’s 3rd Annual Report this week. You’ll find a wide range of information in the report including data about the demographics and kinds and qualifying conditions of our cardholders, geographic distribution and rates as well [...]
We just finished the second meeting of the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. At the 1st meeting (a couple of weeks ago) we outlined key priorities: 1) identifying an “Infectious Disease Treatment Center of Excellence” that would be proficient at treating emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola; 2) developing a parallel emergency medical [...]
Did you know Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) is one of the most commonly reported infectious diseases in Arizona? While most people infected with Valley Fever experience mild or no symptoms at all, some suffer from more severe symptoms including pneumonia or the spread of the fungus to other parts of the body, including the brain. Although [...]
We held our first Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response meeting late last week. The Council outlined 2 priorities…identifying a hospital or hospitals in Arizona that would be responsible for treating any Ebola patient, and improving outreach to physicians across the state to ensure that they have the information needed to effectively identify [...]
This week the Governor signed an Executive Order establishing the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. The Council consists of 20 public health, health-care, and other multi-sectorial partners, with the ADHS Director as the Chair. Our task will be to ensure that Arizona is prepared to rapidly and effectively respond to various infectious [...]
Two Ebola virus disease cases have been identified among healthcare workers in Texas, underscoring the importance of maintaining strict adherence to infection control precautions when working with Ebola patients. We know that the general public in the US isn't at risk - but we also know that healthcare workers have the highest risk. The good news is that the risk of transmission can be dramatically [...]
As Ebola cases continue to rise worldwide and in the US, ADHS is redoubling our efforts to ensure Arizona's healthcare and public health systems are prepared to respond to potential Ebola cases. Right now, our top priorities are ensuring the rapid identification and prompt isolation of cases in order to reduce disease spread to healthcare workers and [...]
The CDC developed an Ebola self-assessment tool for states last week called Top 10 Ebola Response Planning Tips: Ebola Readiness Self-Assessment for State and Local Public Health Officials. The self-assessment (which is posted on the CDC’s Ebola Website) provides a tool for states to evaluate their overall Ebola readiness. Our team has been going through the [...]
Our ADHS Public Health Laboratory has been authorized by the CDC to begin testing blood samples for the Ebola Virus as needed. We received an Ebola test kit on Tuesday, completed our proficiency testing Wednesday, and were approved yesterday (Thursday). The kit can test up to 9 clinical samples for the Ebola Virus. We used a few of [...]
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.