The food we eat affects many aspects of our lives. There's a direct link between poor nutrition and many of the leading causes of death in America such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Healthy eating is important at every age. Most of us don't eat enough fruits, vegetables or whole grains, but we [...]
Last week, 25 public health tuberculosis (TB) nurses, epidemiologists and program managers from across the state came together to talk Arizona TB. This group represented 13 counties and three tribal nations, and spent the day talking about what they’ve done, what they do, and what they’re working toward. The control of tuberculosis can never go [...]
This week, April 4 through 10, we’re celebrating National Public Health Week (NPHW) 2016, a week that helps us recognize the work all of us do to keep our communities and our families healthy. During the first full week of April each year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) brings communities across the United States [...]
Living in Arizona, extreme heat is a situation we are all too familiar with each summer. High temperatures from May through September contribute to more than 118 deaths and more than 2,000 emergency room visits annually here in our state. Right now, it’s not that hot, but we know the scorching Arizona heat is right around the [...]
As National Nutrition Month® draws to a close for this year, take a minute and name the ways you found to brighten your table with colorful fruits and vegetables over the past few weeks. Did you visit a farmers' market with your family? Many of our WIC participants and seniors in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program have done just that as we kicked [...]
Our Public Health Laboratory has been authorized by the CDC to begin testing for the Zika virus. We received a Zika virus testing validation panel from the Laboratory Response Network at CDC late last week, passed the proficiency testing panel and were authorized to test for Zika virus this past Monday. Using this test we can run up to 100 [...]
As expected, the first case of Zika has finally been confirmed in Arizona. Yesterday, our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory identified Zika virus in a specimen sent to us for testing. The case, an older adult woman in Maricopa County, was infected with the disease while traveling in a country with known Zika virus transmission. [...]
One of Governor Doug Ducey’s priorities is to modernize and streamline state government so the services we provide are more effective for the people we serve. One of the ways state government will transform is by deploying an intentional statewide management system . Over the last few weeks we have been working on a department-wide [...]
Input and feedback from our partners is critical to ensuring the public health work we do is effective and meaningful. Even when (or especially when) programs have been in existence for years, it’s important to continue checking in with our stakeholders. MEDSIS, our electronic communicable disease surveillance system, has been in place since 2006, but [...]
Each year on March 24th, we observe World TB Day and revisit the worldwide efforts to control and eliminate tuberculosis (TB) . The theme of World TB Day 2016, "Unite to End TB," is showcased in Arizona through ongoing local, state, national, and binational collaboration. While nationally in 2015 we saw an increase of 157 [...]
