To Everything, There is a Season
When I started working at our agency in 1992 (doing risk assessments for state superfund sites) I never dreamed that one day I’d have the honor of serving as the agency director. Quite honestly, I never had a goal of being the director- but somehow it just happened. This has been an awesome job. We’ve made tremendous progress in [...]
Thanks a Million
One of the services we sometimes take for granted is mail service. At ADHS we have a small mailroom, staffed by Susan Barnes and Meredith Chernov, who processes mail sent through the US Postal Department and the inter-office mail between state offices. In 2014 our mailroom processed over 1,000,000 pieces of outgoing US mail for the first time ever. It [...]
ASHLine Focuses on Preconception Health, Too
ASHLine quit coaches are trained to help both women of childbearing age and especially pregnant women. Our Quit Coaches act as a personal trainer for quitting tobacco and help set goals, work toward a quit date, and provide support. Just like a personal trainer, a quit coach works with folks one-on-one to keep them on track and helps them make [...]
AZ Measles Outbreak Winds Down
So far, there have been over a hundred cases of measles associated with Disneyland (including seven here in Arizona). We’re lucky no “third generation” cases have been found here (yet). Measles can take up to 21 days to develop in a person who has been exposed to the disease, so we’re not out of the woods quite yet…but if we [...]
Smoking & Pregnancy
Smoking during pregnancy remains a risk to the health of Arizona infants. The Health Status and Vital Statistics Report for 2013 found that 4.4% of Arizona moms smoked during their pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with a significantly increased risk for many birth defects. A new article found that smoking during pregnancy is associated with statistically significant increases in cardiovascular [...]
What’s Sleep Hygiene?
If you're like my family, there are times when some of you don't get enough sleep. In fact about 30% of Americans don't get the number of hours of sleep we need to stay healthy. Now that everybody is plugged into an electronic device these days it seems to be getting worse. Electronic devices and even some night lights suppress your production of melatonin, [...]