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.

What’s Cosmic Radiation Anyway?

By |2017-02-10T09:51:51-07:00March 29th, 2011|Preparedness|

In a previous blog post, I talked about how all of us are exposed to natural radiation on a daily basis. It mostly comes from space (called cosmic rays) as well as natural radioactive materials found in the soil, water and air. Some people were wondering what cosmic rays are. Cosmic rays are actually energetically charged particles [...]

New National Public Health Indicator Tool

By |2011-03-24T07:27:40-07:00March 24th, 2011|General, Preparedness, Prevention|

HHS launched a new web portal providing important health and health care indicator data.  The Health Indicators Warehouse represents a vast collection of health and health care indicators like determinants of health, health care access, cost, quality, and use.  Health indicator can be searched for specific populations, places, political jurisdictions, and geographic areas. The Warehouse [...]

Comments Off on New National Public Health Indicator Tool

Japanese Radiological Emergency

By |2017-02-10T09:51:52-07:00March 18th, 2011|General, Preparedness|

All of us are exposed to natural radiation on a daily basis. It mostly comes from space (called cosmic rays) as well as natural radioactive materials found in the soil, water and air.  People can also be exposed to radiation from human-made sources like X-ray machines. Radiation doses are usually measured in units called milli-Sieverts.  On [...]

Healthcare Associated Infections Report

By |2011-03-07T08:14:03-07:00March 7th, 2011|Preparedness, Prevention|

Good news this time.  The number of bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients with central lines decreased by 58% over the last 10 years according to a new CDC Vital Signs report. This decrease saved 27,000 lives and $1.8B in excess health care costs. Bloodstream infections in patients with central lines can be deadly, [...]

Comments Off on Healthcare Associated Infections Report

ADHS & UA Score New Traumatic Brain Injury Grant

By |2011-03-04T08:44:42-07:00March 4th, 2011|Preparedness|

Approximately 20,000 folks are seen in the AZ emergency departments for a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  Of these 1,000 die and 4,500 are hospitalized.  At least 2% of the U.S. population has a TBI-related long-term need for help to perform activities of daily living.   So, needless to say, brain injury is a major public health issue.  There’s growing [...]

Comments Off on ADHS & UA Score New Traumatic Brain Injury Grant

Handwashing Report

By |2017-02-10T09:51:53-07:00March 3rd, 2011|Preparedness, Prevention|

A recent report in Surgery News found that a six-month "process improvement project" that added a simple hand-washing question to the daily ICU checklist decreased the rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections in a surgical ICU.

AZ Trauma System News

By |2017-02-10T09:51:53-07:00March 2nd, 2011|Preparedness|

Trauma remains a big problem in Arizona; it’s the leading cause of death for folks under 44 and nearly 27,000 people suffered injuries severe enough to be cared for in trauma centers in 2009.  We’ve been working hard over the last few years to recruit new rural hospitals into the trauma system as Level IV [...]

Global Polio Eradication Rounds the Bend

By |2017-02-10T09:51:53-07:00March 1st, 2011|Preparedness, Prevention|

Public health efforts eradicated smallpox from the globe in the late 1970s.  The last naturally occurring case was in Somalia in 1977 (followed by a couple of lab accident cases in 1978).  Public health set its sites on Polio next- with an expectation that it could be eradicated before the turn of the century.  A [...]

Comments Off on Global Polio Eradication Rounds the Bend

Arizona’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program’s Creative Solution

By |2017-02-10T09:51:54-07:00February 28th, 2011|Preparedness|

In the past few years, many public health programs have been changing their usual way of doing business to become more efficient while still delivering high quality products.  Our AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) is a federally-funded program that delivers life-saving medicine to low-income folks living with HIV/AIDS.  Our team created a new program called [...]

Comments Off on Arizona’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program’s Creative Solution

CDC Launches Funding Assistance Site

By |2011-02-28T06:53:37-07:00February 28th, 2011|General, Preparedness, Prevention|

The CDC launched their new CDC Funding Assistance Data and Profiles site this week.  The website provides quick access to information on CDC’s funding in states and territories like grants and cooperative agreements to state and local health departments, universities, and other public and private agencies for a variety of public health programs.

Comments Off on CDC Launches Funding Assistance Site
Go to Top