Arizona’s Treat and Refer Recognition Program Makes Strides to Improve EMS Services
The Rio Rico Medical and Fire District recently became Arizona’s sixth emergency medical services (EMS) agency to be recognized as a Treat and Refer EMS agency by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). The Treat and Refer Recognition Program increases patient access to primary and preventive care. The program recognizes EMS agencies that demonstrate optimal patient quality of care [...]
ADHS Provides Education to Arizona Youth About the Dangers of E-Cigarettes
While we’ve made significant strides in reducing cigarette smoking among youth in Arizona, the use of electronic nicotine products, also called e-cigarettes or vape, are on the rise. According to a recent Vital Signs published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in four high school students and one in 14 middle school students in the United States [...]
Update on the Opioid Front: New Report Highlights Recent Activities and Updated Data
Today we released a new report highlighting recent activities in the fight to reduce opioid overdoses and deaths in our state, and a look at opioid surveillance data in the past year. The report highlights some areas of great progress: ADHS established final rules for pain management clinics and began taking applications in January 2019 to begin regulating these clinics. [...]
Being Active Every Day Can Improve Your Health
Physical activity is fun, can be done anywhere and anytime, and can have positive benefits to your health. From now until the end of July, the Arizona Department of Health Services’ AZ Health Zone is featuring a new public awareness campaign called “Every. Day. Active.” The campaign includes statewide digital ads and social media that shows families from all over Arizona [...]
Show Your Heart Some Love by Making Healthy Choices
February is an ideal time to encourage our families, friends, and communities to be involved in heart health. With every heartbeat, blood is pumped through 60,000 miles of blood vessels, delivering important nutrition and oxygen to organs and tissues. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, remains the leading global cause of death with more than 17.9 million deaths each [...]
CDC Releases Interim Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Report
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performs studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu. They recently released the 2018–2019 interim influenza vaccine effectiveness results that highlight how the vaccine helps to protect our communities from the disease. Overall, the vaccine was 47% effective in preventing individuals with laboratory confirmed influenza from [...]