Encouraging Trends in New Bi-annual Tobacco Prevention Report
Part of the authorizing statute for our tobacco prevention programs includes a requirement that we develop a bi-annual report of our progress and activities. Just two years ago, we reported that we were shifting to an “evidence-based” approach to our prevention activities. In other words- we shifted our intervention strategies to focus on approaches that have been statistically proven to work. [...]
Forensic Unit Jelling
The construction on our new Forensic Unit at the Hospital is moving right along. The plumbing and electrical systems, heating and cooling systems, and the wall/ceiling trim are now complete in all the new buildings. Hot and chilled water pump controllers were recently installed which allowed the air handler to start up. Once the kinks are worked out of the [...]
Guillain Barre
A couple of folks from the CDC have been in Arizona this week to help us (and Sonora) to investigate an unusual number of cases (8 in Arizona and 8 in Sonora) of Guillain Barre syndrome . The Arizona cases are in the Yuma area. It’s a rare condition that rarely (but occasionally) happens several days after a person has been sick [...]
New Medical Marijuana Memo from Justice
The U.S. Department issued new guidance for federal prosecutors last week. We had been anticipating a new memo from Justice for some time- hoping that it would clarify whether the dispensary portions of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act are legal under federal law (the Controlled Substances Act). We were also hoping it would help us figure out how risky it would be for [...]
Exceptional Dust Storm
This week's giant dust storm (technically called a haboob) blew through the valley leaving dust hovering in the air for days. The ADEQ said one Phoenix testing station recorded an astronomical reading of over 6,000 micrograms per cubic meter (of PM 10) on Tuesday evening (the federal EPA standard is 150 averaged over a day). PM 10 is a measurement of the concentration of particles [...]
Gettin’ to School
If you’re my age, you probably walked or biked to school- it was a basic part of our culture. Unfortunately the tradition has been lost (for now). In 1969 half of all kids walked or bicycled to and from school and almost 90% of kids that lived within a mile of school walked or biked. Today only 15% of kids walk or [...]