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 [...]
Az Health Improvement Plan Paying Dividends
Az Health Improvement Plan Paying Dividends We made progress this week on one of our key Arizona Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP) objectives: To improve access to well care in underserved areas of Arizona. This week the Governor signed Senate Bill 1194 which enhances our State Loan Repayment Program by expanding the types of providers who can receive loan repayment assistance, increasing the award amounts for the [...]
Prevention: A Great Investment
In the world of health care - the clinician works with patients individually. They examine various indicators of health for their patient including direct observations and laboratory or other diagnostic tests and implement interventions to help their patient improve their health. Providers also encourage their patients to live healthy lifestyles and take safety precautions - and help patients with preventative [...]
New Ambulance Company Approved to Operate in Maricopa County
A few weeks ago I approved American Medical Response’s (AMR Maricopa) application to operate ambulances in Maricopa County, called a Certificate of Necessity or CON. While I approved the CON (after reviewing a host of evidence presented to an Administrative Law Judge and her Order) I didn’t actually issue the Certificate because of the administrative and due process statutes involved. [...]