Opioid Update: Closing in on Recommendations
Governor Ducey’s executive order declaring a public health emergency includes a requirement for the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to provide a report on findings and recommendations to the Governor by September 5, 2017. The emergency declaration will officially come to an end when the Governor accepts the report. In order to develop the recommendations, the ADHS team is [...]
Advancing Team-Based Care through the Use of Collaborative Practice Agreements with Pharmacists to Manage High Blood Pressure
Heart disease and stroke are among the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. In Arizona, heart disease is the leading cause of death. While we applaud the work of the many health care professionals who play a critical role in reducing heart disease and preventing stroke in the United States and in Arizona, we also know [...]
Healthy Kids AZ: A Free App for School Nurses and Childcare Staff
Last year, our Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control launched its first mobile app for infectious diseases, the AZ infectious Disease Resource (IDAZ). We’re thrilled to announce that our mobile app team has partnered up with the Office of Injury Prevention to develop the second public health focused app, Healthy Kids AZ! Healthy Kids AZ is a mobile app that was built specifically for Arizona’s [...]
New Report on States’ Opioid Related Policies
When Governor Doug Ducey declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, the Arizona Department of Health Services quickly activated a team of folks from throughout our Department to help staff the response. One of the tasks I gave the team was to research what other states are doing to reduce opioid deaths. Our team looked at a variety of topics related [...]
ADHS Seek Members for State Drug Overdose Fatality Review Team
This last session, the Legislature passed HB 2493, which establishes a new drug overdose mortality review process within the Arizona Department of Health Services. The new program will result in much more robust information on the circumstances surrounding all drug overdose deaths, identify preventable factors, and inform actions and policies to reduce future overdose deaths. The legislation directs the department [...]
Yavapai County WIC Program Receives USDA Loving Support Gold Premier Award
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that the Yavapai County WIC Program was one of just six WIC Local Agencies throughout the United States to receive the Loving Support Gold Premier Award for providing exemplary breastfeeding services. The USDA Loving Support Award recognizes WIC Local Agencies operating a peer counseling program which meets required Loving Support criteria [...]