Between April and September, the Arizona WIC Program's outreach efforts included a new project to increase awareness of the WIC Program and increase participation among eligible women, infants, and children. The project has been a success with an increase of more than 10,000 participants a month. In September, more than 153,000 individuals received WIC services [...]
October is Corps Community Month, now in its fifth year to bring awareness on the importance of the primary care workforce in improving health. This month highlights the benefits and impact of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) programs in bringing more health care providers into underserved communities with limited access. The NHSC increases access [...]
Public Health Laboratory was awarded funds from the Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity cooperative improvement grant to improve laboratory biosafety in Arizona as part of the national response to the Ebola crisis. The funds were awarded to develop a three-year plan to improve the state lab’s biosafety readiness as well as assisting the State Public Health Lab’s [...]
We received notice from the United States Department of Agriculture that the state plans for both the Arizona WIC Program and the Arizona Nutrition Network were approved for federal fiscal Year 2016. While USDA has not yet finalized the budget for the coming year, the Arizona WIC Program was funded for more than $130 million [...]
In 2013 the Oklahoma State Department of Health was notified of a potential hepatitis outbreak associated with poor infection prevention practices in a dental office in Tulsa. This spurred testing of more than 4,000 patients who could have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV. When the investigation concluded, it marked the first documented spread of [...]
Flu season started early this year with Arizona reporting the first locally acquired flu cases last week. You’ve probably seen or heard messages encouraging you to get a flu shot. That’s because it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to take effect in your system, so we want to be sure you are protected [...]
We received notification this week from the Joint Commission that the Arizona State Hospital will continue to be accredited for all hospital services through October 2017. The acknowledgement confirms the state hospital is meeting standards above and beyond general patient care. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations in the United States. Accreditation [...]
A recent review in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests that a pregnant woman’s folate status in early pregnancy may alter the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in her child. Recognizing that ASD is “complex, heterogeneous, and multi-causal,” researchers wanted to look at environmental aspects to find possible causes of ASD. They found that [...]
Across the country domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women aged 15-44. In Arizona last year, 109 individuals and four dogs lost their lives to domestic violence. During the first five months of 2015, there have been 40 documented domestic violence related deaths. Domestic violence does not discriminate. It doesn’t matter what [...]
Our partnership building skills were highlighted at the United States Conference on AIDS on September 13, in Washington, D.C. Our Office of Disease Integration and Services, HIV Prevention Program, and Maricopa County Ryan White Part A Program were selected from a pool of a thousand applicants to facilitate a three hour workshop “Thrown Under the [...]
