ADHS Earns Elite National Accreditation
The Arizona Department of Health Services is now a nationally accredited public health agency! This week the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) awarded our agency this prominent designation that recognizes the innovative work we do to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and transforming the quality of our statewide public health system. We’re excited and honored [...]
September is Get “Ahead of Sepsis” Month
September is Sepsis awareness month. Get Ahead of Sepsis is a national effort to protect people from the devastating effects of sepsis. This initiative emphasizes the importance of early recognition and timely treatment of sepsis, as well as the importance of preventing infections that could lead to sepsis. Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. It is a [...]
Arizonans Helping to Prevent Hunger
Each year, the United States Department of Agriculture through the Census Bureau conducts a survey to assess the extent that households struggle to put enough food on the table. In 2016, 12.3 percent of U.S. households were food insecure – meaning that they had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all family members because of [...]
The Significance of 9/11 and Public Health in Arizona
In our recent history, national catastrophic events such as the 9/11 attacks, anthrax letters, Hurricane Katrina, and the threat of pandemic influenza led to an entirely new era in public health emergency preparedness. Policy makers from across the nation saw the need to further integrate public health into the emergency management, first responder, and health care sectors. Because of congressional [...]
Water Screening in Child Care Facilities
Starting this month, ADHS will be launching a project to screen water in many licensed child care facilities for lead. Our Child Care Licensing surveyors will collect water from a sample of drinking water sources at facilities while they’re out to conduct facility inspections. The surveyors will bring the water samples to our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory for lead [...]
The United States and Canada Experiencing Cyclospora Outbreak
Currently, the United States and Canada are experiencing an outbreak of Cyclospora, a foodborne parasite. People who swallow this parasite become sick with ongoing diarrhea, often going away and coming back (relapsing), loss of appetite, gas, stomach pain, and fatigue. Symptoms usually start a week after the parasite is swallowed, but can be as short as 2 days or as [...]