The role of a surveyor can be a difficult one. Our team of licensing surveyors need to maintain neutrality as regulators and be able to apply the Arizona Administrative Code (otherwise known as “the rules”) to a wide variety of facilities within the healthcare system. Part of our surveillance includes investigating complaints- which can be generated from [...]
The vision of the Department is to ideally achieve a state of Health and Wellness for all Arizonans and our mission is to promote, protect, and improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities in Arizona. The updated mission and vision statements are helping us build public health value in-house as well as in [...]
Colby Bower will serve as our Interim Assistant Director for Licensing while we recruit and hire a permanent Assistant Director. Colby has been serving as our Legislative Affairs chief for the last couple of years. Colby fills several of the criteria that we needed for the interim post: 1) He’s a good risk manager and [...]
One of the best ways to improve outcomes for kids that have a medical emergency is to have a statewide network of emergency departments that focus on specific “kid-based” criteria for training, equipment, and facilities. Arizona is now one of only 5 states that have implemented a specialized pediatric emergency care system- a system that [...]
Here's a short story about using the democratic process to get things done. Some of you might remember a protest last December in front of our 150 Building. About 100 folks or so were carrying placards in front of our building asking us to make it easier to have a home-birth in AZ. Many of you probably [...]
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 [...]
Kathy McCanna, Alan Oppenheim, and Connie Belden (from Licensing) and Kristy Benton (from Behavioral Health) recently jumped head-first into a new Arizona health-care initiative called No Place Like Home which is Arizona’s approach to the Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs project. The project aims to prevent hospital-acquired conditions and hospital re-admissions. The name [...]
Bloodstream infections that start because of a “central line” in a person’s body are among the most serious of all healthcare-associated infections- causing thousands of deaths each year and about $700M in added costs. The CDC estimates that there were about 41,000 infections like these U.S. hospitals last year… and 25% percent of patients who [...]
Our Division of Licensing Services monitors a wide range of facilities including hospitals, assisted living and skilled nursing centers, behavioral health facilities, child care facilities, and group homes for folks with developmental disabilities. Our teams of surveyors conduct inspections, on-site surveys, and complaint investigations to make sure all of our licensed facilities promote quality care [...]
I’m sure you know that a few wildfires are still burning in AZ, including the massive Wallow fire. The Governor signed a Declaration of Emergency on Monday this week, releasing some state funds to help with the response efforts and opening the State Emergency Operations Center, which is coordinating and directing the state emergency response activities. You [...]
