Successful Infectious Disease Prevention Conference
Last week we wrapped up our 5th annual Arizona Infectious Disease Training and Exercise. This event kicked off with a full day pandemic influenza tabletop exercise followed by two days of training on a variety of infectious disease topics. The 400 registrants – public health folks, infection preventionists, healthcare providers, academic partners, and others – learned about things like healthcare associated [...]
Ebola Health Advisory Issued
The CDC issued a health advisory today regarding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa underscoring the potential for travel-associated spread of the disease and the risks to healthcare workers in the area. The possibility of infected persons entering the US from the ourbreak area is still low - but the CDC also provided guidance to clinicians on evaluating patients. Here's the CDC's Ebola Update [...]
Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders
You’ve probably read about how we are working on the Arizona Health Improvement Plan to help us all live a better, healthier and longer life. But one of the most important things we can do as today’s leaders is to inspire tomorrow’s leaders. I had the opportunity to meet Cody Vasquez this week – he’s the Arizona winner of the [...]
Dramatic Results from AZ’s Cardiac Arrest Receiving Center Initiative
A few years ago our Bureau of EMS & Trauma System enticed dozens of AZ hospitals to become a Cardiac Receiving Centers. The initiative helps hospitals provide treatments scientifically proven to improve a patient’s survival rate (like using therapeutic hypothermia to improve the chances of survival). The program also includes protocols for the pre-hospital teams (EMTs & Paramedics) to evaluate [...]
The 5th “Vital Sign” & the Painkiller Epidemic (Part I of V)
In our lifetimes, each one of us is likely to experience pain. The pain experience could be acute and resolve itself in short order (like a bee sting). Pain can also be a chronic experience lasting a long time with varying levels of intensity (like rheumatoid arthritis). Pain is also subjective and what one person considers excruciating pain, another person may [...]
Behavioral Health “Summer Institute”
Several staff from the Division attended and conducted presentations at the annual summer institute held by ASU’s Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy. This is the largest local conference for behavioral health professionals. This conference was originally created by our Behavioral Health Division in collaboration with ASU 15 years ago. Today, it continues to provide professional development and continuing education [...]