AZ Wildland Fire Season Peaking
After a much wetter than usual winter in the Southwest, spring winds blew away most of the surface moisture and increased fire dangers. Until the monsoon arrives (probably sometime in early July), we’ll be in the peak season for wildland fires in Arizona. Our Department plays a significant role in the response for major wildland fires. Our initial roles mostly [...]
ADHS Lab Selected for Gulf Fish Testing
Our state public health laboratory Environmental & Analytical Chemistry unit has been selected as 1 of 8 chemistry laboratories across the country that will be examining commercial seafood for contaminants from the gusher in the Gulf. The goal is find out whether commercial seafood has been contaminated by the oil spill and if so, to determine whether the levels pose [...]
Empower Pack Going National?
In an effort to spread the good word about our innovative Empower Pack program, we submitted an article for presentation at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting this fall. We heard last week that our submission entitled "EMPOWER – Arizona's collaborative leadership efforts in implementing policy on childhood obesity and tobacco use in child care settings" was selected for [...]
An H1N1 Retrospective
An article in last month’s New England Journal of Medicine provides a good summary of the public’s perception of the H1N1 response in an article called The Public's Response to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. It’s a comprehensive review of data from 20 national public opinion polls conducted between April 2009 and January 2010. Early in the pandemic (when no [...]
Limit the Sun, Not the Fun
School is out & the UV index will be over 10 for the next couple of months, meaning that it’s sun safety season. Since the majority of a person’s lifetime exposure to the sun occurs by the age of 18, it’s crucial to protect and educate parents and children about the simple steps to take to limit sun exposure. With [...]
Medical Marijuana’s on the Ballot
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office determined that enough valid signatures were turned in to put “The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act” on the November 2 ballot as a voter initiative. Basically, if the Act were to pass and be certified, it would create a system so that “qualifying patients” could apply to dispense, use and assist with the use of [...]