17th Annual Child Fatality Review Annual Report
We published our 17th Annual Child Fatality Review Report this week. Our interdisciplinary team reviewed each and every childhood death that occurred in 2009 with the goal of figuring out how each child died, so that we as public health officials, medical practitioners, families, parents and policymakers can design and implement strategies for avoiding preventable deaths in the future. This annual report has been [...]
Compliance v. Enforcement
Those of you in Licensing have heard me talk about the difference between compliance and enforcement more than once, but I’ve never written about it. Some people are confused about the distinction I always make between compliance and enforcement. They are 2 very different things. Compliance (as it relates to our licensees) means that a facility or person in general [...]
2011 Department Priorities Spotlight- Assurance & Licensing Services
I thought I’d do a piece each week between now and the end of the year that outlines our goals for the coming year. I’ll start with Licensing this week… We’ll continue on our quest to make the most of our time and effort during our surveys. We’re already doing a good job now, but as we press through 2011, I’d [...]
Vitamin D & Calcium
Calcium and Vitamin D are two essential nutrients long known for their role in bone health. Over the last 10 years there’s been a fair amount of controversy about how much people need to stay healthy. To help clarify this issue the Institute of Medicine (IOM) assessed the current data on health outcomes associated with calcium and vitamin D and [...]
Kids and tobacco
The Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease sponsored their 2010 Youth Première Event to mobilize Arizona youth in the battle against tobacco. This event marked the first time youth from around the State were brought together to learn about establishing a comprehensive and sustainable statewide youth coalition on issues related to tobacco control and addiction. More than 240 youth attended [...]
Cholera in Haiti
There’s a big outbreak of cholera in Haiti, and health officials are working with international agencies to control the outbreak. Cholera causes severe watery diarrhea and can spread easily from person to person through contaminated food and water. The diarrhea caused by cholera results in loss of body fluids, which can cause severe dehydration and, without treatment, can kill. The best [...]