Updating Healthcare Partners on the State of Infectious Disease in Arizona
On January 19th, our Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) program collaborated with the local Grand Canyon Chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) in hosting their annual State of the State meeting. Around 50 infection preventionists and other state partners attended the event, which was held at the Health Services Advisory Group in Phoenix. This annual presentation is dedicated to educating partners on the [...]
Reported Influenza Cases Reach H1N1 Pandemic Level
If you haven’t been vaccinated, protect yourself by getting your flu shot today. Just like putting on your seat belt, getting vaccinated can save you a trip to the hospital. If you or your children are sick with influenza, take precautions like staying home when you’re sick and covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing. In addition to getting vaccinated, [...]
2015 Healthcare-Associated Infection Data Report Releases
Last week, the CDC released the National and State Healthcare-associated Infection Data Report for 2015 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data. The National Healthcare Safety Network is the nation’s most widely used Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) tracking system and is being used for care improvement by facilities, states, regions, quality groups, and national public health agencies including CDC. The annual report uses the [...]
Data Helps Shape Public Health Priorities
ADHS collects huge amounts of data to help understand and address health problems across our state. The department uses statistics to get insights about how many people in Arizona get Valley Fever each year or where environmental hazards are. We also use statistics to address causes of disease, finding answers that impact policy and program decisions. In the 1940s and ‘50s, researchers noticed that [...]
Highlighting Progress on the Opioid Response
It has been a busy four months since the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) submitted the Opioid Action Plan to Governor Ducey in September. The report on findings and recommendations was one of the requirements under the public health emergency declaration issued on June 5. The challenging work of reducing opioid overdoses has continued with a focus on implementing [...]
New Year, New Targeted Lead Screening Plan
What are your health-related resolutions? The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program’s New Year’s Resolution is to increase blood lead testing among Arizona’s most at-risk children. Children exposed to lead may not have any signs or symptoms but experience serious and permanent developmental and learning problems. The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program released their 2018 Targeted Lead Screening Plan this week [...]