Nurses are vital to the health of all Arizonans
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 follow up with families regarding the health of their babies, nurses in the Division of Licensing who visit our licensed facilities all over Arizona to enforce regulations and ensure the safety of residents and patients, and nurses at the Arizona State Hospital who provide inpatient care and treatment to patients with mental health disorders, personality disorders, and emotional conditions every hour of every day.
This National Nurse Month, we honor and recognize all the ways nurses make an impact on the health of all Arizonans. Every day across Arizona and the Department of Health, nurses are making a vital difference to the health of our state.
Now more than ever, nurses are the bedrock of community care. According to the Arizona State Board of Nursing, there are more than 165,000 nurses in our state, including about 110,000 registered nurses, more than 11,000 licensed practical nurses, and more than 13,400 nurse practitioners.
However, some rural communities lack the crucial nursing care they need. That’s why ADHS is proud to offer the Arizona State Loan Repayment Programs (SLRP) for nurses who want to serve in these rural communities. This program allows nurses and other eligible health providers to have their educational loans repaid in exchange for a two-year commitment to provide care in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) or Arizona Medically Underserved Areas (AzMUA), helping to support both nurses and the rural Arizona communities they serve.
Nurses bring vast knowledge and expertise to every health care setting across a wide range of specialties, serving patients throughout the continuum of life and care. The dedicated nurses throughout public health truly make a difference by influencing and shaping health policy decisions that ensure all people have access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage.
ADHS recognizes the many roles nurses play in Arizona’s health and the positive impact they have on everyone’s lives.
Nurses: You make a difference!
