Last year Arizona welcomed about 98,000 newborns to our world. Our Newborn Screening Program (in the State Laboratory) ensures that each newborn is tested for 28 inherited disorders and hearing problems. The goal is to help kids avoid illness, developmental delays and even death. Teamwork, communication and coordination are to critical in making this program [...]
In Arizona, we’ve been able to decrease the rate of deaths from car, truck and motorcycle crashes by 43% in the last 4 years, from about 19 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 11 per 100,000 Arizonans in 2009. While this is good progress, we still have a long way to go. Crashes are still [...]
In Arizona, we’ve been able to decrease the rate of deaths from car, truck and motorcycle crashes by 43% in the last 4 years, from about 19 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 11 per 100,000 Arizonans in 2009. While this is good progress, we still have a long way to go. Crashes are still [...]
Our AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) uses about $10M of federal funds to provide medicine to treat HIV and prevent related infections to low-income folks with HIV who have limited or no coverage from private insurance, AHCCCS or Medicare. Applicants for the program need to show that their annual income is less than 300% of [...]
I attended the “First Forum of Health and Retirement Tourism” at the beginning of September in Alamos, Sonora. The meeting was part of a Sonora’s health tourism initiative that’s focused on improving the retirement infrastructure, providing more opportunities for “Baby Boomers” to retire in Sonora. They also have a goal of building an infrastructure for [...]
Beginning October 1, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System will automatically enroll all Acute Care members into their local Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) or Tribal RBHA (T/RBHA). The plan eliminates the need for a separate administrative enrollment with the T/RBHA (and the associated paperwork) and streamlines the delivery of services, better integrate physical & behavioral health care. [...]
Folks that receive publicly-funded behavioral health services in Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee and Graham Counties will soon transition to a new Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA). In March, ADHS awarded contracts for all of the areas outside of Maricopa County. We awarded the contract for Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee and Graham Counties to Cenpatico Behavioral [...]
A new report from the CDC this week showed that the smoking rate across the US has stayed flat at about 20% over the last 5 years. Not so in Arizona, where we’ve decreased from 20% in 2005 to 16% in 2009, according to our latest BRFS report. As is the case across the country, [...]
As you recall, the ADHS budget reduction last fiscal year required us to scale back the services we provide to folks who were receiving behavioral health services but don’t qualify for AHCCCS (called Non-Title XIX). We also needed to switch to a “generic formulary” for Non-Title XIX folks on July 1 (which saves about $7M/year). [...]
One of the ways ADHS can help eliminate Arizona’s food deserts is to try to get our vendors (the businesses that accept WIC coupons) to broaden their food inventories with healthier foods. The ADHS Program Integrity Team works to get this done. The Team actively reaches out to the vendor communities (grocery stores and other [...]
