Today is the Great American Smokeout
For more than 40 years, the American Cancer Society has hosted the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November. The event is an opportunity for people who smoke to commit to healthy, smoke-free lives by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit or to quit smoking that day. While tobacco use among Arizona [...]
New Dashboard launched for Valley Fever Awareness
Valley fever is a potentially debilitating and deadly respiratory disease caused by the Coccidioides fungus that affects thousands of Arizonans every year. Valley Fever Awareness Week (Nov. 9–17) was a success with social media messaging, promoting the poster contest, and launching a new data dashboard. Although Valley Fever Awareness Week is over, raising awareness of this local threat to public health [...]
Arizona Makes Progress in Reducing Healthcare-Associated Infections
Earlier this month, CDC released the 2018 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Progress Report based on National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data. NHSN is the nation’s most widely used HAI surveillance system by facilities, states, regions, quality groups, and national public health agencies including CDC. This annual report provides an update on previous reports, detailing state and national progress [...]
ADHS Has Several Programs that Aim to Improve Birth Outcomes
Every year the March of Dimes releases grades based on the National Center for Health Statistics data to calculate preterm birth rates. Arizona received a “C+” grade in the 2019 Premature Birth Report Card, an improvement from last year’s report when Arizona received a “C” grade. The report further highlights disparities across racial and ethnic groups and states that in [...]
Maternal Fatalities & Morbidity Advisory Committee to Hold Public Hearing on October 30
Loss of a woman during pregnancy, at delivery, or soon after delivery is devastating. Arizona has been making great strides this year in its efforts to tackle the rates of maternal morbidity and mortality throughout Arizona. One of those actions was the passage of Senate Bill 1040 that established an Advisory Committee on Maternal Fatalities and Morbidity. The objective of [...]
It’s National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week-Get Your Child Tested
Each year, we join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other partners to promote awareness of lead poisoning. Our Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program got a head start on National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week by spending a morning at Phoenix Children’s Hospital speaking to clinicians [...]