Preparedness

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.

Dengue and the World Cup

By |2017-02-10T09:49:37-07:00June 9th, 2014|General, Preparedness|

GOOOOAAAAAL!!! With the World Cup just around the corner, soccer fans are dusting off their jerseys and getting ready to cheer on their favorite team. For super-fans lucky enough to travel to Brazil to see the matches first hand, fans of opposing teams aren’t the biggest threat… a mosquito-borne disease is. Dengue, spread by the [...]

Working Hard for Public Health

By |2017-02-10T09:49:37-07:00June 5th, 2014|Preparedness|

Every year, the Arizona Medical Association works with us to find one person who really stands out in the public health field to win the Public Health Service Award.  This year Dr. Frank Walter, the medical director for our Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, was given the award at last week’s annual dinner. Dr. [...]

Get In the Health Care Driver’s Seat

By |2017-02-10T09:49:37-07:00June 3rd, 2014|General, Preparedness|

Let’s face it.  When it comes to being in control as a consumer- information is power.  And being in control of your own health and health care is probably one of the most important things you can do as you go through life.  Up until the last couple of years, the healthcare world has been [...]

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ADHS Turns the Key On Electronic EMT & Paramedic Certification System

By |2017-02-10T09:49:38-07:00May 27th, 2014|Preparedness|

One of our top Strategic Map objectives is to improve access to our services by leveraging technology. We took a great leap forward in that area when our new On-Line EMCT Certification went live this week.  The new electronic certification system allows Arizona’s 10,000 Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics to apply for and renew their certificate [...]

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Wildfire Season Kicks Off

By |2017-02-10T09:49:38-07:00May 23rd, 2014|Licensing, Preparedness|

The first big fire of the season started this week in Oak Creek Canyon- called the Slide fire.  Smoke is usually the first public health impact from wildland fires.  The air quality in Flagstaff and Sedona has been generally OK- but poor at times depending on the winds (smoke levels in Sedona have been high [...]

ADHS Publishes Arizona-Specific “Evidence Toolkit” for Decision-Making

By |2017-02-10T09:49:38-07:00May 19th, 2014|Preparedness|

The core of our decision-making as an agency relies on evidence.  Evidence can be scientific like surveillance or research or it can be administrative or financial (like return on investment).  Whichever way you slice it- the key is to get good reliable information so that our public health system can make effective decisions as we [...]

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MERS-CoV x 2

By |2017-02-10T09:49:38-07:00May 16th, 2014|Preparedness|

A couple of weeks ago a healthcare worker who recently returned from Saudi Arabia was the first confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the U.S.  This week the CDC and the Florida health department   confirmed a 2nd US case.   A person with MERS traveled Saudi Arabia - London - Boston - Atlanta - [...]

Federal Funds for Arizona Public Health

By |2017-02-10T09:49:40-07:00May 13th, 2014|General, Preparedness, Prevention|

We use a lot of CDC grants  in Arizona to promote public health.  I’ve talked about what we do with the Maternal and Child Health, as well as the Behavioral Health, grants in previous blogs.  There’s another grant that lets us focus on issues that are specifically tailored to Arizona.  The Preventive Health block grant helps fund our [...]

First Case of MERS in U.S.

By |2017-02-10T09:49:41-07:00May 2nd, 2014|General, Preparedness|

A healthcare worker who recently returned from Saudi Arabia is the first confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the U.S.  The person's in stable condition in isolation in an Indiana hospital. All public health agencies around the world have been carefully watching for new cases of MERS since the disease was [...]

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Dodging the Measles Bullet?

By |2017-02-10T09:49:41-07:00May 1st, 2014|Preparedness|

You might remember from a few weeks ago that a single patient exposed over 1,000 Arizonans to measles.  Because measles is highly infectious and 90% of unvaccinated contacts become infected, Public Health worked overtime to identify and interview suspected cases.   Health care facilities were placed on heightened alert.  The State Laboratory rushed testing of suspicious [...]

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