In September I blogged about how we and Maricopa County Public Health entered into a partnership with the Arizona Small Business Association and Viridian Health Management to train Arizona employers on the implementation of worksite wellness. I’m happy to share with you that the Healthy Arizona Worksites program has launched. The purpose of the Healthy [...]
The March of Dimes just released its annual report card marking how well states are doing in the battle to lower the percentage of babies born prematurely. Being born too soon can cause long-term disabilities in children including cerebral palsy, developmental delay, respiratory problems and vision and hearing problems. Sadly, prematurity is also the leading [...]
For the 5th year in a row, we’re participating in the Undy 5000 fun walk/run on November 17th. This event helps increase awareness of colon cancer and encourages folks to bite the bullet and get screened. The run raises money for the Colon Cancer Alliance and half the profits stay here in Arizona. Half is spent [...]
Those who have been in Arizona for a while may know that Valley Fever is a lung infection caused by a fungus that is common in the soil here. In most cases, people with Valley Fever have very mild symptoms like cough, fatigue and shortness of breath that they may confuse with the common cold. [...]
Our Vital Health Statistics team along with our partners at the UA College of Public Health completed the 1st Annual Report for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program this week. You’ll find a wide range of information in the report including data about the demographics and kinds and qualifying conditions of our cardholders, geographic distribution and rates [...]
I'm happy to announce that Tracey Sotelo has agreed to serve as the Executive Director of our Arizona Biomedical Research Commission. She comes to us from ADOA where she was a Manager in the Benefit Services Division. She has also served as a legal contracts specialist for Banner Research Institute where she reviewed, drafted, revised and negotiated research contracts for clinical trials and device [...]
The Fed’s put out a series of pretty simple and easy to read 1-page fact sheets this week that summarize some of the aspects of the Affordable Care Act. There are Fact Sheets for Families with Kids; Health Care Providers; Folks with Disabilities; Seniors; Small Business Owners; and Young Adults. At the bottom of each [...]
Many of you have heard how I’d like to see the USDA’s food stamp program (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) hard-wire better nutrition into the program by beginning to include nutritious food inventory criteria for SNAP vendors. To help make the case, we contracted with the ASU School of Nutrition & [...]
Our Newborn Screening Program (in the State Laboratory) ensures that each newborn is tested for 28 inherited disorders and hearing problems. The goal is to help kids avoid illness, developmental delays and even death by quickly identifying problems and swiftly letting their doctors know so they can implement interventions. On any given day our newborn [...]
Every day 15 Arizonans suffer from a cardiac arrest (their heart stops). That’s 15 yesterday, today and tomorrow- adding up to more than 5,000 people in Arizona per year… which is more the 5 times the number of folks that die in car crashes. Saving lives after a cardiac arrest requires several links in the [...]
