Stay weather aware and prepare for Arizona’s monsoon season
While it may feel like summer is just kicking off, the monsoon season has officially started and that means some safety measures should be mixed in with your summer fun. What is the North American Monsoon? The monsoon involves changes in seasonal winds that can cause extreme weather conditions including extreme heat, dust storms, sudden downpour, lightning, flash flooding, and [...]
Father’s Day gift for all men: A trip to the doctor
For reasons that aren't always clear, men simply don't go to the doctor as often as women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women visit their healthcare provider 40% more often than men. That may be an explanation for what the Washington Post recently called a "silent crisis in men's health." Data shows that men's reluctance to [...]
Free drinking water lead screening available for Arizona schools, child care facilities
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is offering free lead screening of drinking water fixtures and faucets for Arizona schools and child care facilities as part of a nationwide program that was established by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. ADHS received about $1.4 million to assist Arizona [...]
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 [...]