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 [...]
Chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes cause 70% of deaths in the US these days… absorbing 75% of the $2.5T spent on annual medical care costs. When it comes to employee healthcare expenses- the indirect costs of poor health like absenteeism, disability, and reduced work output can be several times higher than direct medical [...]
About 1/3 of American adults have high blood pressure and more than half of them don’t have it under control. The majority of people with high blood pressure are being treated with medicine and have seen a doctor at least twice in the past year… but their pressure still isn't under control, according to a new [...]
Protecting the health and wellbeing of our children is critical to the future of Arizona. September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Arizona ranks 15th in the nation in childhood obesity with almost 18% of Arizona children (10 to 17) being obese. Obesity puts our children at early risk for conditions we normally associate with [...]
Our Tobacco and Chronic Disease team released the 2011 Diabetes Burden Report this week. And you guessed it- a primary cause is a lack of physical activity and poor nutrition (I know I sound like a broken record). Diabetes is linked to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney failure, neuropathy and even amputations. Sadly, [...]
Keeping off the pounds is tough at any age. Now seniors are getting a helping hand from Medicare. Last month Medicare announced that it’s adding coverage for nutritional and behavioral counseling for those who are obese as measured by body mass index or BMI. BMI is a tool which measures weight status for adults- and [...]
A few months ago our tobacco & chronic disease prevention team was awarded a CDC grant to increase coordination and collaboration on evidence-based interventions addressing the leading causes of chronic diseases in Arizona (heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis). The Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion grant will look for ways we [...]
More than 10% of Arizonans have diabetes. But what’s even more alarming are the recent estimate by the CDC that about 1.5 million Arizonans (25%) have pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Pre-diabetes significantly raises a person’s risk of Type 2 [...]
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (also known as H.R. 1256) went into effect last summer. The law basically gives the FDA the power to regulate some aspects of the tobacco industry. A signature element of the law imposes new warnings and labels on tobacco packaging and their advertisements, with the goal of discouraging [...]
When we implemented our Salt Initiative earlier this year we asked people to know their blood pressure and consider reducing their sodium intake by shopping more carefully and preparing recipes that are lower in sodium. One of the main messages was to encourage people to know their own blood pressure. Then it occurred to me- [...]
