Severe Dog Bites Up Sharply in AZ
When I heard about what happened to the 4 year old boy that was attacked by a Pit Bull a couple of weeks ago, I asked our public health statistics team to look at our surveillance data and see whether severe dog maulings are really up- or whether it just seems that way. It turns out that they really are [...]
Now Hiring – Licensing Assistant Director
Once in a while we have a tremendous opportunity for a great leader to join our team, but not very often. We just posted the Assistant Director for Public Health Licensing. The person we’re looking for will be able to take a great team and make it better. This person will be collaborating with partners on the local, state and [...]
ICM Spring Cleaning Drive Final Push
If you're a regular blog reader, you've probably seen posts about our water drives in the spring to prepare for the summer heat and the food drive in the fall to help our food banks for the holiday season. We also do an annual spring cleaning drive that benefits ICM. This is a great opportunity for those who like to [...]
Tuberculosis & Mankind
Tuberculosis and mankind share a dramatic and intertwined history. TB has caused millions of deaths every year for centuries, been found in Egyptian mummies, has placed patients into sanatoriums, and has even has a folklore link relating it with vampires, The drama continues into this decade: in 2012, there were 8.8 million new cases of TB diagnosed worldwide and around [...]
Improving Newborn Screening Turn-around Times
Last December I wrote about an investigation done by a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about newborn screening program turn-around times across the country. When I saw where Arizona stood relative to the other states in the article, we set a new goal of making sure that our Lab gets 95% of all newborn screening bloodspots from hospitals within [...]
Court Provides More Clarity Regarding Marijuana Extracts
Judge Cooper from Maricopa County Superior Court ruled on Friday that: "The language of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and its ballot materials make clear that proponents and votes intended the Act to provide access to medicine for debilitating medical conditions without fear of criminal prosecution. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act does not limit the form in which that medicine can [...]