Epidemiologists (aka disease investigators) use a number of tools to estimate the contagiousness and spread of a disease. One such tool is the R0 (R nought), which represents the average number of people one sick person will infect. It's calculated by estimating the chances of exposure, number of susceptible persons, length of contagious period, how the disease [...]
One of the roles we play in any outbreak is making sure that our partners in the state have all the information they need to respond to a situation and be safe in that response. I’ve posted about our continuing education of those partners, but now we’ve created a one-page stop for partner. Our Ebola [...]
Two Ebola virus disease cases have been identified among healthcare workers in Texas, underscoring the importance of maintaining strict adherence to infection control precautions when working with Ebola patients. We know that the general public in the US isn't at risk - but we also know that healthcare workers have the highest risk. The good news is that the risk of transmission can be dramatically [...]
As Ebola cases continue to rise worldwide and in the US, ADHS is redoubling our efforts to ensure Arizona's healthcare and public health systems are prepared to respond to potential Ebola cases. Right now, our top priorities are ensuring the rapid identification and prompt isolation of cases in order to reduce disease spread to healthcare workers and [...]
Ring around the roseies, A pocket full of posies, Ashes, ashes! We all fall down! In 1348, London was 4 million strong, but within 2.5 years a third of those had “fallen down.” The streets were narrow and cramped, often piled ankle deep with human and animal waste. The putrid smell contaminated everything in the [...]
For the last few months we’ve been reviewing our medical marijuana rules to make changes to them in response to an Arizona Superior Court judge’s decision. In addition to the changes needed to comply with the Court’s ruling, also proposing other changes to the medical marijuana rules that affect qualifying patients, caregivers, and dispensaries that [...]
The CDC developed an Ebola self-assessment tool for states last week called Top 10 Ebola Response Planning Tips: Ebola Readiness Self-Assessment for State and Local Public Health Officials. The self-assessment (which is posted on the CDC’s Ebola Website) provides a tool for states to evaluate their overall Ebola readiness. Our team has been going through the [...]
Now that we have a new integrated behavioral health care model in Maricopa County, we’ve set our sights on implementing a similar integrated care model in the rest of the state. Our Procurement Team closed the bidding for the Greater Arizona Behavioral Health RFP last Thursday afternoon. This important procurement solicited bids for providing integrated behavioral and physical [...]
Our ADHS Public Health Laboratory has been authorized by the CDC to begin testing blood samples for the Ebola Virus as needed. We received an Ebola test kit on Tuesday, completed our proficiency testing Wednesday, and were approved yesterday (Thursday). The kit can test up to 9 clinical samples for the Ebola Virus. We used a few of [...]
If you’re a “benefits eligible” state employee, you now have a new opportunity to improve your health and your wallet. This week Benefit Options Wellness launched a new health initiative called the Health Impact Program (HIP). It’s a point-based incentive program that encourages participation in a variety of wellness activities, while logging progress toward a [...]
