Some of the most important words in the 13-page Arizona Medical Marijuana Act are: “Physician Patient Relationship” and “A Full Assessment of the Qualifying Patient’s Medical History”. The real gatekeepers that’ll determine which applicants ultimately would qualify for a medical marijuana card are Arizona MDs, DOs, Naturopaths and Homeopaths, as they evaluate their patient's medical [...]
Healthcare-associated infections claim more lives in Arizona every year than auto accidents or influenza. Surprised? That’s why the Governor issued a proclamation making this week as Infection Prevention week in Arizona- providing us with an opportunity to call attention to one of the CDC’s Winnable Battles- defeating Healthcare-Associated Infections. We had a news conference (along with [...]
The Licensing Division, Office of Medical Facilities recently presented extensive technical assistance during the Arizona Ambulatory Surgery Center Association Fall Conference this month. Staff from the Licensing Division including Tucson and Phoenix Surveyors as well as Life Safety Code Surveyors and State Architects provided information to about 180 participants. Topics included the state of current [...]
Preventing teen pregnancies could save Arizona more than $180M/year. Teen mothers face higher rates of preterm birth, and their kids have higher rates of low birth weight and infant death. Compared to women who delay childbearing until the age of 20 to 21 years, teenage moms are more likely to drop out of high school and to [...]
The State Hospital folks have been very generous with their clothing donations to ICM as part of our SECC campaign. In one week our Hospital folks donated a completely full pickup load of clothes etc. that went to ICM for distribution to needy folks. Awesome job- thanks. I also had an opportunity to do a [...]
Where would the inventory come from if Proposition 203 (the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act) passes? As near as I can tell… it could come from at least 3 places: enclosed cultivation facilities associated with dispensaries; enclosed cultivation facilities operated by caregivers on behalf of cardholders, if the people they care for live 25 miles from [...]
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) haven’t really been a problem in AZ for the last few decades. Sure, we’ve had reports of bed bug infestations, but they’ve mostly been limited to areas around the Grand Canyon where lots of international travelers come and go toting their sleeping bags. After all, bed bugs are basically hitch-hikers, so [...]
Our Behavioral Health Division picked up a cool $2M (federal) grant from the AZ Department of Housing last month. This $2M plus the $2M we received several months ago, now equals $4M that we’ll be able to use in our bridge subsidy voucher program. Just like in sales, the cornerstone for making public health progress [...]
Recent research on brain development has found long-term benefits for families when they receive home visits during pregnancy and after the birth of a child. Benefits include enhanced child health and development, reduced child abuse and neglect, early identification and treatment of developmental delays and health issues, improved pregnancy outcomes, improved self-sufficiency of the family, [...]
We were part of a landmark journal article in JAMA this week that will most likely change the way CPR is done in the US and maybe worldwide. Our ADHS EMS team partnered with the UA, municipal fire departments & hospitals across the state to accurately track bystander CPR and survival rates from cardiac arrest and look [...]
