Public health threats are always present. They include natural disasters; biological, chemical, and radiological incidents; and explosions. The impact of these threats can range from local outbreaks to incidents with national or global ramifications. Last year’s influenza pandemic underscored the importance of communities being prepared for potential threats. Being prepared to prevent, respond to, and [...]
Last week, I outlined goals and priorities for the Licensing Division in the coming year. This week I’ll hit on the Division of Behavioral Health… One of our primary objectives will be to better integrate behavioral health, physical health, and wellness at the "retail" level (i.e. at the point of care). By strengthening integration and [...]
When taken as directed for legitimate medical purposes (and prescribed appropriately) prescription drugs can be safe and effective at treating illnesses and conditions. However, the increasing rates of prescription drug abuse are a growing and now urgent problem, especially among young people. Powerful prescription drugs are often available and easily accessible in many, if not [...]
Our preparation for the implementation of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act is on track. We've made a great deal of progress on all fronts over the last couple of weeks. The informal draft of the Administrative Code that we'll release next Friday is really starting to gel. We've got the key elements hammered out and our [...]
The Phoenix National Disaster Medical System conducted a successful Full-Scale Exercise on Thursday. We sponsored the exercise (with our federal cooperative agreement funds) along with the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The NDMS is a federally coordinated system that supplements the Nation’s medical response capability when local resources are overwhelmed during disasters. The exercise [...]
We published our 17th Annual Child Fatality Review Report this week. Our interdisciplinary team reviewed each and every childhood death that occurred in 2009 with the goal of figuring out how each child died, so that we as public health officials, medical practitioners, families, parents and policymakers can design and implement strategies for avoiding preventable deaths in the [...]
Those of you in Licensing have heard me talk about the difference between compliance and enforcement more than once, but I’ve never written about it. Some people are confused about the distinction I always make between compliance and enforcement. They are 2 very different things. Compliance (as it relates to our licensees) means that a [...]
I thought I’d do a piece each week between now and the end of the year that outlines our goals for the coming year. I’ll start with Licensing this week… We’ll continue on our quest to make the most of our time and effort during our surveys. We’re already doing a good job now, but as [...]
Calcium and Vitamin D are two essential nutrients long known for their role in bone health. Over the last 10 years there’s been a fair amount of controversy about how much people need to stay healthy. To help clarify this issue the Institute of Medicine (IOM) assessed the current data on health outcomes associated with [...]
The Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease sponsored their 2010 Youth Première Event to mobilize Arizona youth in the battle against tobacco. This event marked the first time youth from around the State were brought together to learn about establishing a comprehensive and sustainable statewide youth coalition on issues related to tobacco control and addiction. [...]
