Arizona is one of America's leading states in developing a plan for Crisis Standards of Care. Crisis Standards of Care are those standards that are implemented when a catastrophic event occurs and there are shortages of space, supplies, and staff within the hospital and healthcare community. These protocols can serve as a planning platform from [...]
Our epidemiologists in the Office of Infectious Disease Services have been working with local and federal public health partners on an outbreak investigation of a rare strain of Salmonella, called Salmonella Paratyphi B. Most ill people in Maricopa County report eating sushi containing raw minced or ground tuna at restaurants. As of May 20, there are 51 cases nationally [...]
Arizona, like every state in the country, is battling an epidemic of people misusing and abusing prescription drugs. We’ve been working with several partners on the Arizona Prescription Drug Misuse & Abuse Initiative since 2012 to reduce the problem in Arizona. The Initiative team recently developed a comprehensive toolkit designed to assist communities to tackle prescription drug abuse at the [...]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4 million Americans are living with viral hepatitis and more than 20,000 die every year from hepatitis-related infections. Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation. Two types of viral hepatitis, B and C, are [...]
Getting kids to eat healthy is hard, especially for busy moms. The Arizona WIC program now offers new foods to help families provide nutritious meals. Yogurt, whole wheat pasta, and new brands of cereal and baby foods for older babies are now available through the WIC program. The full list of foods includes many fresh, frozen and canned vegetables, [...]
Public health has reach into many areas that you may not think about. Currently we’re working to reduce the number of prescription drug overdoses and deaths. The misuse of prescription drugs is a national epidemic. We’re working with the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to attack the problem here. The funding for our prevention efforts comes from the Preventive Health and [...]
This past weekend, we held the fourth annual “Empowering Habits and Empowering Lives” Empower Conference. More than 250 Early Care and Education professionals from all over Arizona participated in the all-day meeting. Conference participants explored the Empower Program's 10 Standards to Empower Children to Live Healthy Lives and learned how to be more effective through developing cultural [...]
In Arizona it doesn’t have to be summer for the temperatures to soar. With the first 100 degree day in Phoenix today, we know the scorching heat is right around the corner. High outdoor temperatures aren’t just an inconvenience; they’re dangerous. Heat is the number one killer weather-related cause of death in Arizona and across [...]
At the end of March, the men’s overflow shelter closed in downtown Phoenix. The shelter housed up to 350 homeless men at full capacity. The city condemned the building for asbestos. We’re one of many community partners responding to the housing needs of vulnerable people in Arizona. Our permanent supportive housing program will provide an [...]
Vaccines are scientifically proven to be the best way to prevent the spread of many communicable diseases. Yet, through the last decade, Arizona along with the rest of the country has seen an increase in the number of families choosing not to vaccinate their children. A recent outbreak that started at Disneyland created a firestorm of interest in vaccinations, [...]
Social Media