You’ve no doubt heard about the multi-state outbreak of fungal meningitis among patients who received an epidural steroid injections recently. Here’s what we know right now: Starting sometime in September some shipments of a steroid sometimes used to relieve back pain were contaminated with a fungus called Aspergillus fumigatus. Shortly thereafter patients in 23 states [...]
I just got back from this year’s (30th annual) United States-Mexico Border Governor’s Conference in Albuquerque- called “Energize Our Borders”. It was an opportunity to further strengthen the ties of friendship, security, and economic prosperity among the 10 states that comprise our United States-Mexico border region. The Conference is made up of 7 worktables including Agriculture and [...]
The next 2 years will be a time of transition for how vaccines are delivered and paid for in the US- as national policy shifts to the new order under the Affordable Care Act. In the short-term there'll be some transition challenges- but in the long run- it should be easier to keep up our vaccination rates. In [...]
You might have noticed that more and more restaurants and fast food places are starting to put calorie and other nutrition information on their menus. That’s not a coincidence or accident- they’re getting ready for the upcoming menu nutrition labeling requirements in the Affordable Care Act. Section 4205 of the new law requires restaurants with [...]
Every so often- you run into a resource guide that stands above the rest. I discovered one of those a couple of weeks ago when I was at a conference with the people in my job from around the country. It’s called the Guide to Community Preventive Services – and it’s a free resource to [...]
Safeguarding the public’s health is more important than ever. Whether the threat is a disease outbreak, environmental hazard or natural disaster, the public health system works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep Arizonans safe. Each year, the CDC evaluates state and local public health preparedness programs in a detailed report. This [...]
When I was a kid, it seemed like everyone walked to and from school. Today, less than 15% of students walk or bike to school. Walking and biking to school is a great way to help students arrive at school energized and ready to learn – it also helps them reach the recommended 60 minutes [...]
Prescription drugs serve a very important purpose in health care, when they’re used the right way. That’s why physicians have to write the prescriptions – doctors who are trained to understand the purpose of the medication as well as the patient’s tolerance and the possibility of interactions. However, too many times, we keep medication after [...]
We just found out that AZ had 3 oral abstracts accepted (including the #1 scored abstract) for this year’s National Association of EMS Physicians meeting. Of the 208 abstracts submitted, only 15 were selected for oral presentations. We get to do 3 because AZ submitted 3 of the top 15 scored abstracts. Our Statewide Cardiac Receiving Center abstract was the [...]
Back in 2006 we funded a web based "hub and spoke" telemedicine system with tobacco tax funds to link up small rural and undeserved hospitals with a Primary Stroke Center (Mayo Clinic Arizona) which can give expert advice on how to best treat acute stroke patients at the rural hospitals (also called spoke hospitals). We’re [...]
