National Awareness Month Puts the Focus on Suicide Prevention
This month, Governor Doug Ducey issued a proclamation to declare September National Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The proclamation states some sobering statistics. Arizona ranks 18th in the nation for suicides among children and adolescents. Numbers show suicide was the second leading cause of death for Arizona teens ages 15-18. Suicide prevention is an important topic, especially one worth discussion. [...]
After the Storm: Healthy Living Tips
Our state has experienced some powerful storms over the past month with the most recent hitting the Greater Phoenix Area last night. After the storm passes, the threat to public health can continue. Fortunately, there are simple actions you can take to prevent the spread of these health risks, including mosquito-borne disease, flood water runoff and food that has gone [...]
Nationally Recognized Empower Program Expands
The reach of Arizona’s Empower Program is expanding to home visiting. The voluntary program was created in 2010 to support licensed Early Care and Education providers. The goal: to empower young children to live a healthy lifestyle. Some of our empowering tips include less screen time for kids, increased physical activity and healthier mealtime foods. Today, home visiting programs that [...]
The 2015 Great Arizona Mosquito Hunt
Our vector-borne disease team is partnering with the University of Arizona, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, and other local health departments in a project with high schools around the state to learn more about the Aedes aegypti mosquito. This mosquito was introduced to Arizona in the past 20 years and can transmit dengue and chikungunya viruses. Both these viruses [...]
National Immunization Survey Released by CDC
This month is National Immunization Awareness Month and we can’t stress enough how important vaccines are to protecting your family, yourself, and those around you. According to the Centers for Disease Control immunizations are one of the top 10 public health accomplishments of the 20th century. The 2014 National Immunization Survey for toddlers was released by the CDC today. This report [...]
Arizona’s Surveillance System Goes International
The ADHS MEDSIS Program and Tuberculosis Control Program have teamed up to enhance the already unique relationship with our Sonoran Public Health counterparts. As of June 25, we welcomed CureTB, an international referral agency, onto MEDSIS. The ADHS TB Control Program and Office of Border Health has a long standing relationship working with CureTB in following TB cases and contacts across international borders to achieve completion of [...]