Today marks the end of the national COVID-19 public health emergency, but most tools – including vaccines, testing, and treatment – will remain available in Arizona. More than two years after the public health emergency was declared, and more than three years after the virus began its rapid spread in 2020, the U.S. Department of Health […]

At the Arizona Department of Health Services, our nurses are involved in the prevention, education, advocacy, activism, assessment, and evaluation of public health across our state. They play an essential role in preventing disease and educating the public to promote communities’ health and safety. We’re proud to have nurses in Newborn Screening who work to […]

As Arizona’s statewide public health agency, we spent much of last week celebrating National Public Health Week by focusing on you and your community, wherever you are in Arizona. Our hope was to draw more attention to the issues that are important to improving the public’s health and the power of community across our state. […]

National Public Health Week (NPHW) allows us to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation’s health. For more than 25 years, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has served as the organizer of NPHW. Every year, APHA develops a national campaign to educate the public, policymakers […]

In any other setting, you might not think these people would have much in common: Fran Altmaier has spent her nearly three decades with the state of Arizona helping babies and their families.  Dr. Austin Echelmeier is a fan of Bill Nye the Science Guy and has a doctorate in chemistry.  Susan Robinson is a […]

Wednesday’s weekly update to COVID-19 cases in Arizona will provide a number that needs to be put in context.  This number, 26,866, is almost entirely the result of one laboratory reporting cases that occurred throughout 2022. In reality, Arizona saw 1,890 cases for the week ending Feb. 18. Deaths added to the dashboard aren’t affected.  […]

Every child born in Arizona gets a test that draws five drops of blood from the heel. Those samples come to the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory to screen for rare medical conditions. Each of these conditions can be treated, but parents need to get the information promptly.  That’s where Fran Altmaier comes in. As […]