Implementing Our Strategic Plan- Promote Physical Activity & Nutrition
Our Public Health Prevention folks launched an exciting new initiative to improve health outcomes for Arizonans this month called the Arizona Population Health Policy Initiative. This new partnership (with Arizona’s local county health departments) is focused on achieving targeted improvements in health outcomes for Arizonans by advancing evidence-based strategies which address community design, school health, worksite wellness, clinical care, and [...]
5 Reasons to vaccinate your baby
It's always a good idea to periodically look at why you are doing something and see if something might be different -just in case you need to change course. Public health does that with many things - this week, we take a look at infant immunizations and the value they play in protecting the little ones and all of society. [...]
What’s Debilitating?
The voter approved language in the AZ Medical Marijuana Act directs us to periodically accept and evaluate petitions to add new debilitating medical conditions. We’ve made it through the first phase of considering whether to add 4 new debilitating conditions… 1) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; 2) Generalized Anxiety Disorder; 3) Migraines; and 4) Depression. You’ll be able to give us [...]
Infant Mortality- the Presidential Challenge
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Dr. David Lakey, this year’s President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials has selected the Healthy Babies Project for his national initiative- challenging each state to implement strategies to reduce prematurity and infant mortality based on successful national, regional, and state efforts to improve the health status of babies. [...]
Insurance Exchange Reg’s
The Department of Health and Human Services released final regulations to implement Insurance Exchanges under the ACA. The regulations spell out the standards for establishing and operating “one-stop” marketplaces, qualifications for health insurance plan participation, exchange health plan and subsidy eligibility determination for individuals, and criteria for small business eligibility and participation. Certain provisions of the final rule are being issued [...]
AZ Leads the Way in Emergency Care for Kids
One of the best ways to improve outcomes for kids that have a medical emergency is to have a statewide network of emergency departments that focus on specific “kid-based” criteria for training, equipment, and facilities. Arizona is now one of only 5 states that have implemented a specialized pediatric emergency care system- a system that was developed in partnership with [...]