Who Is Ed Jenner?
He’s a guy that may have saved more lives than any other single person in history. In the 1790's, he noticed that “milkmaids” seldom came down with smallpox. He developed a theory that the blisters which “milkmaids” commonly had as part of their work (from a disease called cowpox) somehow protected them from smallpox. In 1796, he tested his theory [...]
AZ “Putting Prevention to Work”
Last year we received funding from CDC to implement the Communities Putting Prevention to Work, which aims to achieve broad reaching, highly impactful, and sustainable change to reduce chronic disease burden associated with obesity and tobacco. This week CDC notified us that Arizona is a “high performing” state. What does this mean? CDC will soon be visiting Arizona providing additional evaluation [...]
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
The Sonoran Desert will be among the hottest places on the globe for the next 4 months. The heat on the desert floor isn’t just a nuisance, it’s expensive & lethal. Do you know what to do to protect yourself and your family? Do you follow through? Year in and year out, nearly 1,400 Arizonans get heat related illnesses so serious [...]
Healthy Athletes
Did you know that Special Olympics’ Healthy Athletes Program is the largest health care provider for people with intellectual disabilities in the world? Although “health” and “athletics” tend to be two topics that are believed to go hand in hand—that is not always the case, as Special Olympics leaders became aware of over the years. The goal of the Special [...]
Fairy Tale Conveys Anti-smoking Message to Kids
Guest blog by: Karen Lewis, M.D., Medical Director of the Immunization Program Office of the Arizona Department of Health Services. Tobacco use is the world's leading single preventable cause of death. Every year, tobacco-related illnesses cause about 500,000 deaths in the United States. Children start smoking early. Every year, there are about 400,000 new daily smokers in this country who [...]
Making Kids Safer in Cars
The American Academy of Pediatrics updated their car safety recommendations in the April issue of Pediatrics advising parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until 2 (or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat for big kids). They also recommend that most children should be in a belt-positioning booster seat until they’re 4’9” and [...]