National Nurses Month: ASH provides opportunities for nurses to grow
Sheila Holmen always had a calling to be a nurse. "I knew that I wanted to be a nurse at a very young age," said Holmen, a psychiatric nurse at the Arizona State Hospital (ASH). "It's not something that I can really explain or understand, it is just something that's inside of you. I had many people in my life [...]
A recent audit of the Long Term Care Licensing system shows room for improvement to address issues with complaint processing
In September 2019, the Arizona Auditor General (AZAG) published the Performance Audit and Sunset Review (2019 Report) for the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). The 2019 Report included the AZAG’s findings related to how ADHS handled complaints for long-term care (LTC) facilities in 2017 and 2018, and five recommendations to improve the complaint process. In May 2022, the AZAG [...]
How ADHS regulates sober living homes and behavioral health residential facilities
In Part 1 of our Licensing blog series, we shared what a sober living home (SLH) actually is. We also explained other types of homes that are often confused for sober living homes, including behavioral health residential facilities (BHRF), which are also licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). In this installment of our Licensing series, we will [...]
The time is right for women to prioritize their own health
This week we celebrate National Women's Health Week - the perfect time to take a moment to consider how we might strengthen our health with an extra dose of self-care. Many women act as the managers of their family’s health-maintaining records, scheduling visits, caring for sick loved ones, and taking their children to appointments at the recommended times. According to [...]
How we license facilities that provide substance abuse recovery resources
In Arizona, there has recently been a large uptick in interest about “sober living homes'' from the media, government officials, members of the community, legislative members, and law enforcement. Based on the questions we’ve received in our Division of Licensing, it is clear that there is a lot of confusion surrounding what sober living homes are, what other types of [...]
Federal COVID-19 public health emergency ends – Vaccines, tests & data will remain available
Today marks the end of the national COVID-19 public health emergency, but most tools - including vaccines, testing, and treatment - will remain available in Arizona. More than two years after the public health emergency was declared, and more than three years after the virus began its rapid spread in 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has [...]