Sequestration and Our Mission
No doubt the word “ Sequestration” is front and center in your vocabulary these days. This is just a quick note to forecast how it might impact our mission. For starters… the main impacts from federal sequestration (i.e. the federal budget reduction for some programs) will be related to the services that we provide and the planning that we do [...]
Promotoras Make Connections
What’s a Promotora? In simple terms, a Promotora is a community health worker who's a trusted member of the community and serves as a link between people and services to promote the overall health of family, friends and neighbors. Creating effective linkages between vulnerable populations and the health care system can be challenging in Arizona. Like many other agencies in Arizona, we've called [...]
New Bacteria Takes the Stage
This week’s Vital Signs report shows that antibiotics are being overpowered by lethal germs called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or (CRE).These germs cause lethal infections in patients that get inpatient medical care in hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing homes. In their normal forms, the germs- in the Enterobacteriaceae family (e.g. E. coli) are a normal part of our digestive system. However, some of them have evolved and become resistant to all or [...]
This Year’s Clothing Drive is Here
Spring is a good time to toss out stuff we don’t use anymore and do a little cleaning around the house. If that’s the case for you, we’re going to make it easy to get rid of the clothes and household goods you don’t need or want. A couple of years ago, we had people donate to the Interfaith Cooperative [...]
Palo Verde Nuclear Exercise
Today our preparedness team will participate in a drill (graded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to test our response to a simulated radiation release from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. The exercise simulates an event where people, food or drinking water could become contaminated in the very unlikely event that there were to be a release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. [...]
Next Season’s Influenza Vaccine
Just as our influenza season winds down (and it is), it's time to plan for the next one. Every February the World Health Organization convenes a panel of experts to look at the most current data on the circulating flu strains from around the world and makes recommendations for the next season’s Northern Hemisphere flu vaccine. At this week’s meeting in [...]