Today I was served with a lawsuit that challenges the State (and the Department) for not implementing the dispensary portion of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. The case, filed in the AZ Court of Appeals, asks a judge to order us to follow the rules that we published on April 14 and begin accepting dispensary [...]
More than 1,100 Arizonans died from drug poisoning, which is more than the number of Arizonans that die in car accidents every year. This isn’t just an Arizona public health crisis, it’s a national one. Last week the federal government released a new plan to address the national prescription drug abuse epidemic and announced new [...]
Have you heard about Mental Health First Aid? It’s designed to quickly help folks with a behavioral health need. It’s a lot like CPR or other forms of first aid for physical health conditions in that anyone can learn and apply the concepts soon after going through the short certification training. Mental Health First Aid [...]
We recently extended our contract with the Regional Behavioral Health Authority in Maricopa County through September 30, 2013. We authorized the contract extension (which will be the 6th year of the contract) so that we can better serve our members and families while we hammer out the details of several new initiatives designed to improve [...]
One of the budget bills that passed and was signed last legislative session (Laws 2011, Chapter 31, § 7) allows our Office of Vital Records to set new fees for copies of registered certificates, certified copies, amendments, etc. Our Office of Vital Records will use the new fees to “self-fund” the program, meaning we’ll no longer receive State General [...]
Over the weekend a resident of our Arizona Community Protection and Treatment Center (ACPTC) escaped while he was on an approved pass to go to church. The resident was accompanied by one of our staff during the outing. The resident was authorized to go on the pass to church because he had “LRA” or “Least [...]
Today the Arizona Academy of Pediatrics recognized our Nutrition and Physical Activity Team as a co-recipient of the 2011 Partnership Award at its annual luncheon and chapter meeting. Our team was recognized for increasing outreach efforts to pediatricians and actively fostering collaboration among staff and the Academy membership. Karen Sell and the team helped the Academy indentify [...]
The Maricopa Integrated Health System has been recognized as a QUITZone for going smoke-free. Our Bureau of Tobacco & Chronic Disease and the UA Healthcare Partnership honored them this week for their efforts to “walk-the-talk” in promoting healthy lifestyles and combating the health and cost burdens of tobacco use and secondhand smoke. To help achieve a [...]
I’m sure you know that a few wildfires are still burning in AZ, including the massive Wallow fire. The Governor signed a Declaration of Emergency on Monday this week, releasing some state funds to help with the response efforts and opening the State Emergency Operations Center, which is coordinating and directing the state emergency response activities. You [...]
We successfully overhauled our operating rules for Child Care Facilities last year, and now we’re well on our way toward doing the same for the smaller child care homes. We’ve published our Draft Rules for public comment on our rules website, and we’re asking folks to provide input before we finalize the rules. After reviewing [...]
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