Your AZ Public Health Laboratory was recognized this month at the CDC Laboratory Response Network National meeting for Innovative Collaborations with AZ's first responders. We were lauded for our unique approaches to training hazmat technicians on the use of handheld analytical instruments for testing chemical and biological agents in the field and demonstrating testing capabilities available at the public health lab. [...]
Our Office of Environmental Health is one of only 8 states awarded a cooperative agreement with the CDC for adapting to extreme weather and its effects on public health. Heat is the number one killer among all weather related causes of death across the country and in Arizona… more than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires [...]
Helping fight hunger in our state is a worthy investment of anyone’s time. One in four children struggle with hunger in our state according the Arizona Association of Food Banks. To do their part… food banks in our state supply more than 11 million pounds of food every month. But the food banks rely on [...]
It’s that time of year again. It is October, the pink ribbon shows up and you can find opportunities to buy just about anything created in pink; even small appliances. You know pink has truly taken hold when you see men at the gym wearing pink workout gear and football players wearing pink shoes. There [...]
Every day at least 3 women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the U.S. October is set aside to help bring awareness to the issue - across the country domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women aged 15-44. In Arizona last year, 108 individuals lost their lives to domestic violence; so [...]
The Affordable Care Act provided $1.5B nationally (through September 2015) to the National Health Service Corps to train and recruit more primary care providers via scholarships and loan repayment assistance. It’s a federal program been building healthy communities by connecting primary health care providers to areas of the United States with limited access to care [...]
Today is World Polio Day so I thought I’d throw together this post to give you an update on where we are in the global eradication effort. 2012 has been a good year so far- as the global public health system has made some real progress. This year we’re down to only 3 countries with [...]
AZ was selected to be one of only six states to participate in a new national initiative to help preschools to adopt evidence-based practices in nutrition, breastfeeding support, physical activity, and "screen time" policies and practices. The project begins this month when a company called Nemours (that’s who's been hired by the CDC) begins establishing and training state teams to lead preschool quality improvement learning collaboratives. Nemours [...]
October 24th is the 2nd annual Food Day in the US. It’s a nationwide celebration and movement towards more healthy, affordable and sustainable food. We’ve been collaboratively planning a “Phoenix Real Food Tour” with Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the The Orchard Community Learning Center garden, Tiger Mountain Foundation, Central Farmers’ Market, and the Arizona Department [...]
October 24th is the 2nd annual Food Day in the US. It’s a nationwide celebration and movement towards more healthy, affordable and sustainable food. We’ve been collaboratively planning a “Phoenix Real Food Tour” with Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the The Orchard Community Learning Center garden, Tiger Mountain Foundation, Central Farmers’ Market, and the Arizona Department [...]
