Each year, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) observes National Trauma Awareness Month in May. This year’s theme, Injury Prevention is Everyone’s Business, emphasizes that injury prevention is a collaborative effort. Emergency medical services (EMS), first responders, healthcare providers, trauma centers, legal systems, educators, and the community all play a role in helping to [...]
EMCTs of the Year - 2024Daniel Malanowski, Central Region Russell Smith, Northern Region Dan Wallace, Southeastern Region Tim Maple, Western Region Each year, during the month of May, the Arizona Department of Health Services’ (ADHS) Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Trauma System observes National EMS Week to honor our EMS and [...]
This is Crash Responder Safety Week and this year’s theme is Protect Those who Protect You! It is everyone’s responsibility to be safe on our roadways and our first responders are dedicated to that mission. Every minute of every day, law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical services, public works, transportation, towing, and other responders [...]
Editor's note: Information in this blog about the causes of child injury and death have been updated. Each year, the State Trauma Advisory Board collaborates with the ADHS Bureau of EMS and Trauma System (BEMSTS) to publish a report summarizing injury and trauma mortality in Arizona. This year, there are two new resources to share [...]
We are currently working on updating Arizona’s ambulance rules to align with House Bill 2609 and new statutory requirements that go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. These new requirements create standard principles for the ambulance industry across the state, including response time standards and tracking and improving patient care. ADHS began the process of [...]
Last week in Arizona there were nearly 18,000 emergency calls to 911 reported through the Arizona Prehospital Information and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Registry System (AZ-PIERS). That included 1,271 calls about injuries related to falls, 567 for motor vehicle crashes, and 343 for cardiac arrest and strokes. We keep track of those numbers not out [...]
You might associate Crash Responder Safety Week more with our colleagues at the Arizona Department of Public Safety and Arizona Department of Transportation. But it's special to ADHS as well because of our role in supporting Arizona's emergency medical services and trauma system. From 2019 to 2021, there were more than 100,000 traffic-related crashes involving [...]
Public health oversees many areas, one of which is the Arizona trauma system. Each year, the State Trauma Advisory Board collaborates with the ADHS Bureau of EMS and Trauma System to publish a report summarizing trauma in Arizona. Data reported to the Arizona State Trauma Registry from Arizona trauma centers is analyzed to illustrate top [...]
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 [...]
Recent events such as Hurricane Harvey have illustrated the importance of information sharing during a disaster response. Communication and coordination between first responders, health care facilities, emergency management, public health, and other responders is critical to protecting the health and well-being of disaster victims. After action reports and lessons learned from previous responses almost always [...]
