Cara Christ, MD and her team put together a dynamite new PowerPoint presentation on the role of AZ physicians under AZ’s Medical Marijuana Act. The goal of the presentation is to provide a resource for physicians to be better informed about their role under the Act- and to learn about the checks and balances that we [...]
This week marks the 50th anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week. For the first time ever- poisoning surpassed car crashes as the number one cause of injury deaths in AZ and more than 2,000 kids had to go to emergency rooms last year from unintentional poisoning. Kids under 5 had the highest rates of non-fatal emergency department visits from poisoning. For more [...]
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 [...]
We’ve got a treasure trove of statewide public health indicators website called “Arizona Health Matters” http://www.arizonahealthmatters.org/ which has a wealth of information about the health status of Arizonans- and includes lots of other interesting data including Promising Practices and Evidence Based Interventions. The site includes more than 100 health and quality of life indicators, an [...]
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 [...]
We’ll be having a “Request For Information” session regarding our “ Recovery Through Whole Health, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority with Health Homes” project (a.k.a. the upcoming Request for Proposal for behavioral health services in Maricopa County) on March 21 from 1- 5 pm at the Radisson City Center at 3600 N. 2nd Ave. in Phoenix. We’ll [...]
I thought it would be fun to give some perspective on public health and the Department’s activities 100 years ago as we approach our Centennial in a few weeks. Our AZ Public Health Laboratory is celebrating its 100th birthday shortly- just like the State. Our Lab was one of the first parts of state government- it created by the [...]
Public Health’s 10 Essential Services Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture - what is public health? Public health is everywhere and is a part of the infrastructure that keeps our communities safe and healthy and focuses on the entire populations while other models may focus on the individual. In the 1900s [...]
This week is National Folic Acid Awareness Week and a great time to start taking a multivitamin with 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day. So, whether or not you’re planning to have a baby this year, you can start the New Year with healthy habits that will help give a baby a healthy start [...]
Looking for a book to read over the holidays about one of public health’s biggest achievements? You’ll enjoy a new book written by Dr. Bill Foege called House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox. Dr. Foege was a key leader in the smallpox eradication effort. He joined the CDC in 1962 in the Epidemic Intelligence Service [...]
