Earlier this week the Arizona Department of Administration issued a “Stay Order” for transition related activities connected with the transfer of our Maricopa County Behavioral Health Authority from Magellan to Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care. This isn’t uncommon during protests, and the Stay wasn’t issued on the merits of the award protest. It’s more of a [...]
This week there were about 120 home-birth enthusiasts demonstrating in front of our building for about 3 hours. The crowd was expressing their unhappiness about our draft regulations for Licensed Midwives. You might have also seen the Arizona Republic article on the demonstration. As I’ve written before, we started the process of revising the rules for [...]
A few weeks ago we were named the #1 social-media-friendly state health department in the U.S due to our robust social media presence and content including blogs, live streaming events, online forums, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, G+, Flickr and other social media environments. This week we were highlighted in the latest National Public Health Information Coalition Newsletter. [...]
Our Lab just finished a major website makeover. Check out the new Laboratory landing page which will lead you to Newborn Screening, Microbiology, Chemistry, and Lab Licensure and Certification.
Summer is almost here and the kids are wrapping up the school year. Let’s challenge families to end the school year on the right foot. Why not try walking or biking to school? The mornings are still nice enough to walk. Make it a family activity; role model healthy behavior, leave the car keys at [...]
Heat is the number one killer among all weather related causes of death across the country and in Arizona… more than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires combined. It doesn’t get much attention because it’s hard to take a picture of heat- but it’s easy to take a picture of hurricanes and tropical storms. The AZ [...]
National Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week is coming up next week. Healthy swimming depends on paying attention to basic health, hygiene, sun-safety, and what swimmers bring into the pool (and what they don’t). For starters, remind your kids to take a sunscreen, hydration, and bathroom break every hour when swimming. You might also want to start [...]
We already broke the 100 degree mark in the Valley this week. It won’t be long before the heat’s here to stay. Heat is one of the most dangerous weather situations in public health – actually it’s the #1 weather-related killer. Last year 152 Arizonans died from heat exposure.... with 80% happening in June, July and August. The largest [...]
I’ve been writing quite a bit about population health and the importance of creating healthy environments for communities. Some of those innovations take creativity and cash to make them work. Help is on the way - today, the feds announced the Healthcare Innovation Awards – Round 2. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services put [...]
Now that Cory Nelson has officially been appointed as our Deputy Director for Behavioral Health, we’re moving full steam ahead to recruit for the Chief Executive Officer of the Arizona State Hospital. The CEO is a critical member of our team and has the responsibility of managing the day-to-day operations of the civil, forensic and [...]
