Professional Development

Arizona’s Public Health Training Center: An Introduction

In 2022 the Western Region Public Health Training Center was awarded $4.1 million by the Health Resources and Services Administration to help support a skilled and knowledgeable public health workforce through 2026. Over those years, they’ll continue to provide interactive training programs that impart critical skills for providing quality services that meet community needs and address emerging threats at the local, state and national levels. The Western Region Public Health Training Center is one

Read More »
Professional Development

Maricopa County Department of Public Health Fellowship Recruitment Beginning Soon

Maricopa County Department of Public Health Fellowship program will begin recruiting their second cohort soon! This two-year program will connect recent graduates of advanced degrees with practical, hands-on learning experience. Fellows will: Get full pay and benefits Work with internal projects to execute initiatives aimed at current public health issues in our communities Get continuous support and mentorship from Fellowship Coordinator and Project Point of Contact Be a part of

Read More »
Behavioral Health

Common-Sense Governance Reform for Our Arizona State Hospital Will Have to Wait Yet Another Year

A key government accountability bill (SB1688) that would have fixed the governance flaw at our Arizona State Hospital failed again this year. You’re probably tired of reading pieces by me about why this bill was so important so I’ll spare you the details of why ADHS shouldn’t be both running and ‘regulating’ our state hospital. In the end, opposition from the governor’s office led Senate Democrats to vote against the

Read More »
Assurance & Licensure

Key Assisted Living & Skilled Nursing Accountability Bill Advances (HB2764): Companion Bill Abandoned

Regulating facilities where Arizonans receive services is a key, one might say cornerstone, function of a state health department. When a state health department is doing a good job regulating facilities like nursing homes, assisted living centers, behavioral health facilities, outpatient treatment clinics and the like, journalists’ stories are generally about how a facility did poorly on an inspection and highlight agency enforcement actions. It’s an altogether different story when

Read More »
Climate Change

New Maricopa County Public Health Reports: 2023 Heat Death Surveillance & Evaluating Cooling Center Effectiveness

Maricopa County Department of Public Health published 2 reports last week regarding last summer’s tragic heat deaths. Their preliminary report of heat-related deaths in 2023 found a record- breaking 645 heat-associated deaths last summer. That total breaks the previous year’s total by over 50%. The persons most affected are folks experiencing homelessness. Their evaluation of the effectiveness of a cooling centers investigated what brought people to cooling centers and the barriers that kept people

Read More »

Will’s Blog