Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention in Arizona
If you’ve caught the news lately, you’ve probably seen reports of lead poisoning in other states linked to contaminated drinking water. Lead poisoning is a serious health concern – especially in children. Lead poisoning can damage children’s intelligence, behavior, hearing, or growth, and the only way to detect the condition is through blood testing. Last year in Arizona, over 400 [...]
Arizona Leading the Way to Promote Diabetes Self-Management
In a recent report by the CDC, Arizona was ranked number one in diabetes self-management education, with an increase of 34 percent participation by residents with diabetes from 2012 to 2014. Diabetes self-management education help people with diabetes build the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for self-care. Our goal is to improve clinical outcomes across the state by supporting Arizonans [...]
Groundwater Awareness Week
March 6 through 12 marks the 18th National Groundwater Awareness Week. Groundwater is the water that soaks into the soil from rain or other precipitation and moves downward to fill cracks and other openings in beds of rocks and sand. Most groundwater flows directly into streams, rivers and lakes from below. Groundwater contamination is of particular concern for owners of [...]
Arizona Making Progress Against Healthcare-Associated Infections
On March 3rd, the CDC released the National and State Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Progress Report for 2014 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data. This annual report provides an update on previous reports, detailing state and national progress towards reducing, and ultimately eliminating, HAIs. The infection types highlighted in the report include Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI), Catheter-Associated Urinary [...]
Public Health Works Behind the Scenes to Make Our Communities Healthy
When I was younger, my grandmother gave me two books, and I don’t think she realized they ended up shaping my career. After reading Outbreak (by Robin Cook) and Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC (by Joseph McCormick and Susan Fisher-Hoch), I was hooked on working in public health. After learning more about what public health could do and [...]
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Make it a priority this March to know the facts about colorectal cancer. Not enough Arizonans are up-to-date on their screenings, and too many are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at late stages. According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about one in 20. In the U.S. and in Arizona, colorectal cancer is [...]