Infectious Disease Preparedness & Response
The Ebola virus, influenza, enterovirus, tuberculosis, and other emerging infectious diseases posed key public health challenges in Arizona during 2014, sparking important interventions. In October the Governor issued an Executive Order establishing the Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response to develop and implement a coordinated plan to ensure Arizona’s public health infrastructure is prepared for the outbreak of diseases [...]
Prescription Painkiller Misuse and Abuse
The misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers continued to be a major public health challenge in 2014. Misuse and abuse of opiate prescription painkillers continued to kill more than car crashes in 2014….but we also completed some key interventions this year. In 2014 we released new Arizona Opioid Prescribing Guidelines for Arizona clinicians. They’re a voluntary, consensus set of principles [...]
Tobacco Use
The Top 5 things that kill people in Arizona: heart disease, cancer, lung diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis, stroke, and injuries. In fact - these 5 conditions cause 63% of all deaths - which is nearly 18,000 people each year in Arizona (about 50 people/day). Tobacco use is a major factor in 4 out of the 5 leading causes [...]
Healthcare Associated Infections
Healthcare-Associated infections continued to be a major (and largely preventable) threat to patient safety in Arizona during 2014 - although we had better results this year. The 2014 National and State Healthcare Associated Infections Progress Report found significant reductions for nearly all infections in Arizona. Arizona’s public health system takes a layered approach to preventing healthcare associated infections in our [...]
Improving Behavioral Health Outcomes
People with a serious mental illness die more than 25 years earlier than the general population…an unacceptable health disparity in anybody’s book. The increased mortality is largely from treatable medical conditions caused by modifiable risk factors like smoking, obesity, substance abuse, and not accessing primary and acute medical care. We recognized the need to address this unacceptable health disparity when [...]
Electronic Child Care Renewal Utility Goes Live
Our Child Care Licensing shop launched a new Child Care Licensing application last week. The Bureau regulates nearly 2,500 Child Care Centers in the state of Arizona. The new web application gives Child Care Centers a way to submit licensing (and enforcement) fees - increasing the efficiency of our processing time. The application is also designed as an e-Licensing portal, so it [...]