Back in 2006 we funded a web based "hub and spoke" telemedicine system with tobacco tax funds to link up small rural and undeserved hospitals with a Primary Stroke Center (Mayo Clinic Arizona) which can give expert advice on how to best treat acute stroke patients at the rural hospitals (also called spoke hospitals). We’re [...]
Awhile back, our epidemiology and licensing team of disease detectives including Jason Lempp, Cara Christ, Vinita Oberoi, Jessica Rigler, Ken Komatsu, Kathy McCanna, Connie Belden, Ken Komatsu, and Shoana Anderson learned of a severe case of a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) through our 24-hour disease reporting system. Our team quickly contacted the county public health department which immediately began an [...]
An excessive heat warning has been issued this week, with temps climbing up to 113!!!! The AZ heat is a lot more than a nuisance – it's lethal. Our latest report on heat shows that about 1,400 Arizonans get a heat related illness so serious they end up in a hospital emergency room – hundreds [...]
About 500,000 times a year in Arizona a call goes out from someone that finds themselves in a medical crisis. Our pre-hospital and hospital providers step up to the plate to answer that call. All Arizonans are proud and appreciative of what you do for our citizens, friends, co-workers and families. You make a difference! [...]
The opening of a new hospital last week in Florence was anything but usual for folks in our Licensing Division. Since the hospital will also take care of prisoners, the staff had to work closely on the floor plan to make sure it met both medical and security needs. The hospital had to be able [...]
When I got into public health 25 years ago, it was kind of a boutique profession. Since then, it’s really gone mainstream- and public health is increasingly being recognized as a key element in driving down our country’s increasing health care costs. So if you’re a beginning or mid-career professional- get in on the ground [...]
Check our excellent new web page about the history of the AZ State hospital. The stuff on the new hospital history page is fascinating. One of the things that struck me is that the issues of concern to the Superintendent of the Hospital 100 years ago were remarkable similar to today. The 100 year old [...]
Families often get split up when there is an emergency– but they shouldn’t have to split up at a shelter. ADHS, along with the Arizona Statewide Independent Living Council and other partners, found a way to reduce that problem. Using CDC grant funds, we purchased special equipment that will let people with functional needs stay [...]
Last January 8th, the world was horrified by the events in Tucson Arizona. A mass shooting in a supermarket parking lot on a Saturday morning – 19 people shot, 6 died. As tragic as this event was, it could have been worse had the emergency medical care providers and trauma team not been prepared. It [...]
Kudos to our EMS and Trauma System team for forging some new tools to improve trauma care in AZ. Our Data and Quality Assurance team developed an innovative benchmarking tool that’s shared with each of AZ’s trauma centers. The tool shows each facility their injury specific survival rates and compares those rates to the (blinded) other [...]
