Historic Arnold vs. Sarn Agreement Reached
The Governor today announced a final agreement has been reached in the Arnold vs. Sarn case regarding care and services for individuals with serious mental illness. Litigation that commenced in 1981, the settlement ends a more than three-decade long lawsuit against the state and establishes a blueprint for a successful community-based behavioral health system in Arizona. You can read more [...]
Combatting Killer Painkillers
Poisoning (including alcohol and prescription drugs) causes more deaths than car crashes in Arizona. A recent report issued by the Trust for America's Health ranked Arizona as having the 6th highest death rate for drug overdose in the country in 2010. Arizona also had one of the highest rates (4th highest at 5.7%) of nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers [...]
ADVICE Collaborative II: Turning the Tide on Infections
Back in 2013 our Licensing team joined with our Infectious Disease Services shop and our Healthcare Associated Infections Advisory Committee to put together a day-long conference aimed at improving infection control practices in our dialysis facilities. The ADVICE collaborative brought together licensed dialysis providers, the dialysis network, federal partners, and public health professionals to find new ways to promote infection [...]
Electronic Birth Certificate Rollout Going Smoothly
We rolled out a new electronic birth certificate system this week that will be a game-changer for public health. Our system (which took about 18 months to plan, create & launch) will help us collect better surveillance data for our Winnable Battles like obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse, and better data about birth outcomes that will help with our maternal and child [...]
Influenza Season Officially Arrives
Flu season is here! Parts of the country (mostly in the south) have had more intense flu activity in the last few weeks, and 25 states reported widespread flu activity for the week ending December 28th. Meanwhile, in Arizona we are seeing an increase in the number of lab-confirmed flu cases reported to ADHS- but 50% fewer cases than we [...]
Public Health Poem to end the Year
The Ambulance Down In The Valley A Poem About Public Health Prevention by Joseph Malins (1895) 'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed, though to walk near its crest was so pleasant; but over its terrible edge there had slipped a duke and full many a peasant. So the people said something would have to be done, but [...]