Supporting services for refugee populations
For the past two years, CyraCom, one of the leading providers of language interpreting services to healthcare, hosted a language services summit here in Phoenix. The three day summit acted as a platform for healthcare systems to share information related to their language access programs, challenges, and needs seen in various communities in the U.S. This year, Stella Kiarie from [...]
Food Safety Tips for Halloween
Halloween is loved by children and adults alike. As Halloween approaches, the Arizona Department of Health Services encourages families to celebrate in a safe and healthy way. Parents should talk to their children about Halloween food safety. Tell children not to accept – and especially not to eat – anything that isn’t commercially wrapped. Inspect commercially wrapped treats for signs [...]
Transitioning Behavioral Health Services
The only true constant is change, particularly when you are part of a team committed to continuously improving the health and wellness of all Arizonans. October 1 was an important day for the behavioral health system in Arizona with four significant system transformations occurring simultaneously. The Division of Behavioral Health Services, with a lot of support from other team members [...]
Pediatricians Promoting Food Security for All Children
It seems hard to believe that one in every five children in the United States lives in a home where there isn’t access to enough healthy food for an active, healthy life for all household members. Here in Arizona, the numbers are estimated to be even higher, affecting as many as one in three children. The American Academy of Pediatrics [...]
Lead Poisoning Prevention Awareness
In Arizona, more than 800 children each year are identified with elevated blood lead levels. Even at low blood lead levels, children's intelligence, behavior, hearing and growth can be irreparably damaged. To increase awareness of childhood lead poisoning prevention, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey issued a proclamation to kick off Arizona’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Week October 25-31. We join a national [...]
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection
Recent media has highlighted one of the most common antibiotic-resistant-bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In the US, over 2 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and more than 23,000 people die due to these infections. Anyone can get MRSA and infections range from mild to very serious, even life-threatening. Most MRSA infections are skin infections and are generally mild. [...]