We're off to an early start with the flu and RSV season this year with more cases reported in November than in previous seasons. Respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV) is a respiratory virus that mainly affects little kids and circulates during the winter. There’s no vaccine for RSV- but for those babies that are at highest [...]
Some of you might remember a protest about a year ago in front of our 150 Building. About 100 folks were carrying placards asking us to make it easier to have a home-birth in AZ. They were mostly young families and some licensed midwives- and they were urging us to change our licensing rules for midwives. That day [...]
When most of us think botulism, we remember the old tales about “dented” cans and home canning, but we only get about one case every few years from bad home canning practices. Last week, 8 inmates from a prison in Pinal County got botulism- our biggest outbreak since 2006. Botulism is a severe illness caused by a toxin [...]
Oral health is more than a nice smile. Having good oral health improves a person’s ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, and eat. Plus, tooth decay and gum disease have been linked with other health problems like heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as premature births. Given the link between oral diseases and [...]
This is one to remember. SBIRT is an acronym for a behavioral health intervention that stands for “Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment”. The technical definition is “ … a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for persons with substance use disorders…” A more metaphorical (is that [...]
I started my career in public health inspecting restaurants, motels and the like in the mid- 1980s. My area was right around here down toward South Mountain- and I inspected the cafeteria in the basement of the Executive Tower and the cafeteria that used to be on the 4th floor of the 1740 building. It doesn’t seem [...]
A Superior Court judge ruled today in the dispensary case concerning the applicant in the Sun City CHAA. The judge ordered the county to begin processing the required zoning paperwork. This was the only application for this area, so the next step for the applicant is to submit to us a completed application including the zoning [...]
Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in Arizona (7,600/year). Because Arizona’s EMS agencies (including more and more 911 centers) have implemented key interventions, the survival rate from Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Arizona has increased by 300% since 2004. Arizona’s pre-hospital and EMS system has become a model that has been adopted across [...]
Injuries are the leading cause of death for Arizonans from age 1 to 44. That means for the majority of the young and the middle-aged injury is more lethal than cancer, heart disease, hypertension and influenza combined. The effectiveness of a State’s pre-hospital and Trauma System makes the difference when it comes to saving lives [...]
The effectiveness of a State’s EMS and Pre-Hospital & Trauma System makes the difference when it comes to saving lives (and quality of life) from injuries. Injuries are the leading cause of death for Arizonans from age 1 to 44- so you can see how important it is for states to have an effective EMS & [...]
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