Arizona WIC Program Selected for USDA Lean Six Sigma Process
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is undertaking a Lean Six Sigma process improvement project for the development of the WIC state plan. Six Sigma is a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating shortcomings in processes. USDA selected a variety of state agencies and regional offices to take part in the five-month project. The Arizona WIC Program was one [...]
Arizona Sees Big Drop in Youth Tobacco Use
The Arizona Youth Risk Behavior Survey has some good news for the tobacco prevalence rate among high school aged youth. According to the new data, we saw a drop of almost 30 percent between 2013 and 2015. The percentage of youth using tobacco in our state dropped from 14.1 percent in 2013 to 10.1 percent in 2015, which translates to [...]
I Was Sick Today, So Will I be Infectious Tomorrow?
It’s bad enough to be sick, but worse is the thought of passing your illness to someone else. Have you ever wondered when you’re contagious and when you’re not? Some diseases can keep people infectious for a while. For example, people with pertussis (whooping cough) can be contagious for two weeks. People with infectious tuberculosis can be contagious for several [...]
New Federal Dietary Guidelines Released
The Eighth Edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has some great new changes based on the most current scientific evidence. For the first time, the guidelines set a specific recommendation to consume less than 10 percent of your calories from added sugars. They reaffirm that healthy eating includes choosing a variety of vegetables like the colorful ones we promote [...]
Zika Hits the United States
A few weeks ago I blogged about Zika virus, a disease spread by mosquitoes that was newly detected in several Central and South American countries. This week, the CDC confirmed the first case virus of Zika in the United States. The virus was found in a person who lives in Texas, but who had traveled outside the country to an [...]
It’s Birth Defects Prevention Month and Folic Acid Awareness Week
Our employees wore green and jeans this week to raise awareness of folic acid and its benefits before and during pregnancy. January is Birth Defects Prevention Month, and January 10 through 16 is Folic Acid Awareness Week, which are great opportunities to highlight a simple way that women can help prevent birth defects. A daily multivitamin with 400 mcg folic acid [...]