National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and I am pleased to announce that we’ve seen the number of overweight or obese children decrease among our preschool children in the Arizona WIC Program from one in three to one in four. Back in 2008, 29.4 percent of preschoolers in the Arizona WIC Program were either overweight or obese. This past [...]
National Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Month
September is a great time to visit a farmers’ market as we celebrate Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Month. Plan to visit a farmers’ market and enjoy some fresh and delicious Arizona Grown vegetables and fruit. This year, nearly 11,000 women and children and 6700 seniors can eat more vegetables and fruits because of our Arizona Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Each participant [...]
Food Safety Education Month: SEPARATE
There are four keys to food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. Last week, we talked all about the ways cleaning can prevent foodborne illness. This week, we’ll talk more about the second key: SEPARATE. A major source of foodborne illness is cross-contamination. This can occur when pathogens (illness-causing bacteria, viruses, or parasites) are transferred from one food to another either [...]
Supporting Training Needs of Immunization Providers in the Digital Age
At the beginning of the year, the Arizona Immunization Program Office piloted the HL7 Roadshow (also known as the ASIIS Reconciliation Regional Training) across the state. More than 328 providers were trained to manage vaccine inventory and ordering by connecting their electronic health records with the Arizona State Immunization Information System (ASIIS). If you missed the trainings earlier this year, [...]
ADHS FY 2016 Annual Report Release
I am so excited to release the NEW Online Annual Report for the Arizona Department of Health Services for Fiscal Year 2016, showcasing the major activities we have been able to accomplish in the past fiscal year. Through this report, we highlight the many ways ADHS helped improve the lives of all Arizonans in 2015-16 by: Controlling epidemics, Educating people [...]
Checking In on Child Care
Back to school time may bring on some new routines and new child care needs for your family. Whether it is full-time child care being provided in a child care center or certified small group home, Head Start program, or after-school program for our older kiddos, we only want the best for our next generation. Most child care programs are [...]