STAND Success Story
Tobacco use is responsible for thousands of deaths in Arizona every year – more than 8,000 according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Secondhand smoke also takes a toll on the health of those exposed. Eliminating the danger of secondhand smoke is a big part of the Smoke Free Arizona voter initiative. Passed in 2006, it focuses on enclosed public [...]
Measles – Code Yellow
Arizona seems to have escaped the first round of the national measles outbreak without any more cases, but that doesn’t mean we can drop our guard. Measles is still circulating in the country, especially in nearby states. So parents, nurses, doctors and all healthcare professionals need to consider measles as a possibility when someone has a rash and high fever, [...]
Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness & Response Progress
We’ve made a lot of progress implementing the provisions outlined by the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response late last year including: 1) successful designation of 2 hospitals; 2) receiving new funding to support accelerated infectious disease preparedness planning and response; and 3) approval of a new award to enhance hospital readiness. New Infectious Disease Preparedness & Response [...]
National Public Health Week 2015 website launched
The website for National Public Health Week, which will run April 6-12 this year, is now open for business. Visit www.nphw.org to stay abreast of information and events and access the NPHW toolkit. The toolkit contains fact sheets, media outreach materials, suggested community events, legislative information and other helpful resources and activities. This year's NPHW focuses on the goal of [...]
Tuberculosis: Stubborn but Eradicable
In the past, tuberculosis was all over popular culture. It was portrayed in opera (Puccini’s La bóheme, Verdi’s La Traviata), in novels (Tolstoy’s Anna Karénina, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment), and in poetry (works by both Keats and Shelley). Nowadays, it seems like the only time TB is in the news is when it’s about ancient Egyptian mummies. In fact, TB [...]
Big Behavioral Health Procurement in the Books
In mid-December (2014) we awarded contracts for the Northern and Southern regions of the state to Health Choice Integrated Care and Cenpatico Integrated Care. On January 2nd United Healthcare filed a Protest with the ADHS for the award in Southern AZ, requesting an Emergency Stay and Administrative Hearing. On January 21 we denied the Protest. United HealthCare didn’t appeal that denial [...]