Case Dismissed: Arnold v. Sarn
After more than 30 years of litigation, the Maricopa County Superior Court last week dismissed the Arnold v. Sarn lawsuit, retaining jurisdiction to enforce the on-going agreement that lead to this historic resolution. The dismissal is the result of a comprehensive joint stipulation – filed by the parties and approved by the court earlier this year – that ensures a successful [...]
Trash Your Stash
Abuse of prescription drugs is a public health epidemic, but you can do your part in helping to curb access to prescription drugs with one simple step: get rid of your old and unused medications. This weekend is the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day held by the DEA and state and local partners. Removing unused prescription drugs from your [...]
What Zero Grams (0g) of Trans Fat Really Means
Eating foods with trans-fat (or trans fatty acids) raises low-density lipoprotein (“bad” cholesterol), lowers your high-density lipoprotein (“good” cholesterol), and is linked to heart disease. Trans fat provides no health benefit and there’s no safe level of eating trans-fat. The FDA, American Heart Association, and the Institute of Medicine all agree that trans fatty acids have a stronger effect on [...]
We Can Prevent Suicide
This is national suicide prevention month. What can you do to prevent suicide? Look for the warning signs: Those talking about wanting to die Those giving away their possessions Those feeling hopeless, or intensely lonely Those experiencing mental or physical pain Those increasing their use of substances Those discussing revenge Those demonstrating extreme mood swings Those sleeping in excess Those [...]
The Ebola Intervention Roadmap
The pace of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has quickened over the last few weeks. There have now been over 4,900 cases and 2,400 deaths (half in the last month). The WHO has warned that by October, we may see the number of Ebola cases doubling every three weeks. For several months now, the caseload has overwhelmed the capacity [...]
Influenza Preparedness
It’s coming up on the harvest season for infectious diseases, and many of our ADHS teams are gearing up. We’re monitoring the number of flu cases reported across the state (we’ve only had 1 in the last couple weeks), supporting distribution of flu vaccines, encouraging healthcare workers and the public to get vaccinated, and testing influenza specimens to identify circulating strains [...]