#yavapai county health department

[kkginfo]

Quality of life: These seven people should be in everyone's life.. then life will be colorful.. | KKG INFO

Quality of life: These seven people should be in everyone’s life.. then life will be colorful.. | KKG INFO

Every health problem these days is linked to lifestyle. Busy working hours, night shifts, working from home, everyone is used to junk food. Due to this, not only the physical health but also the mental health is disturbed. National Junk Food Day 2022: Every health problem these days is linked to lifestyle. Busy working hours, night shifts, working from home, everyone is used to junk food. Due to…

[krogerconews]

Yavapai County Health Officials Warn Of Tartar Sauce Recall

The Yavapai County Health Department wants consumers to know about a nationwide recall of tartar sauce distributed by Safeway and Albertsons. from Google Alert - safeway | publix | albertson's http://ift.tt/2ybmUOq via IFTTT

[anitacarpenterbn]

The dangers of Arizona's highways, what can we do about it?

While traveling on Interstate 17 for a landscaping job, one of Hugh Pressman’s trailer axles broke after hitting a pothole on the freeway. Pressman, the owner of Kaibab Landscaping, commutes into Flagstaff from Munds Park and dispatches members of his team throughout the region for projects. Lately, Pressman said, he fears for his employees’ safety when traveling to job sites because of rough conditions on the interstates.  “The road conditions are dire,” Pressman said of interstates 40 and 17. “Those roads are extremely dangerous and covered in potholes.” CONDITIONS Deferred maintenance on freeways in northern Arizona has contributed to rough conditions on some of the most heavily used infrastructure, said Mark Woodson, the owner of Woodson Engineering. Regular maintenance can keep roads functioning longer and help prevent more costly projects when roads deteriorate too much, he said. “We’ve gone beyond that point,” Woodson said. “We already have to spend more on maintenance than we would if the roads had been maintained regularly.”  The Arizona Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over both interstates as well as some roads within the city, must “prioritize maintenance and construction projects because there is only so much funding available at one time,” ADOT spokesman Ryan Harding said in an email. The biggest problem today is the financing mechanism for roads. The engineering solution is the easy part. We know how to fix it and we know how to maintain it, but we are not given the money to do it. But, the cost is the State’s problem.  The fact is that potholes and other road hazards have presented a danger on the highways.  Delay is not acceptable. There are safety issues from just plain hitting a pothole, and between Flagstaff and Williams, people drive in the left hand lane instead of the right lane and makes passing less safe. Woodson says “I’ve seen trailers flip and truckers repairing tires on the side.” Woodson served as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which issues a report card for infrastructure nationwide and at the state level. The most recent report card for Arizona was issued in 2015, and rated roads throughout the state at a “D plus” level.  Motor vehicle crashes cost Arizona $4 billion per year, $833 for each resident, in medical costs, lost productivity, travel delays, workplace costs, insurance costs and legal costs.  The report also states that roadway conditions contribute to about one-third of traffic fatalities. There were 849 traffic fatalities in 2013 in Arizona. A total of 4,068 people died on Arizona’s highways from 2009 through 2013. A FLAGSTAFF PROBLEM “I-17 and I-40 are critical for the health and well-being of our city,” Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans said. “The bulk of rural Arizona depends on goods, services and people travelling along the I-17 and I-40 corridors.”  The city council hosted the ADOT board over the summer to discuss issues for the Flagstaff area, and Evans said the city, and other cities that depend on the freeways, to have people at the capital when the budget is being crafted to advocate for more funding. The city does not have jurisdiction over ADOT-controlled freeways, but Copley said the city considers ADOT a “good partner and collaborator.” Copley said the freeze-thaw cycles of the Flagstaff area create more road problems than in areas where it does not freeze as often. “As you’re experiencing a change in altitude, you will see a distinct difference in the road conditions,” Copley said. Potholes on the freeways can grow exponentially within a few days, Copley said, especially when water freezes inside overnight and thaws during the day. At the most recent meeting with the department’s board, Copley said he and the city council wanted to focus on the Fourth Street bridges, which need to be widened and lengthened. The city is funding part of the improvements to the bridge. But Copley said he would like to see more capital improvements from ADOT in the Flagstaff area, and said he and his staff will “continue to bring local concerns” before department representatives and leadership. The department’s 2018 through 2022 5-year plan, which is still in the review period, does not include capital improvements solely in Coconino County, but does include widening I-17 between Stoneman Lake to Rocky Park road, which is mostly in Yavapai County but extends into Coconino. However, maintenance for existing infrastructure is not listed in the plan. FUNDING ADOT does not break down funding allocations by county, and instead uses districts specific to the department. Flagstaff is part of the Northcentral district, which includes most of Coconino County and parts of Yavapai, Mohave and Navajo counties. For the last six years, the Northcentral district has received the second highest allotment for maintenance, second to the Central district that includes the greater Phoenix area. In the 2017 fiscal year, the department allotted $12.8 million to maintenance in the Northcentral district, which Harding said includes “roadway maintenance… repairs to fencing and guardrail, as well as snow removal, emergency responses to crashes or natural disasters such as highway flooding, vehicle maintenance and even worker training costs.” The American Society of Civil Engineers, Woodson’s organization, advocates for a higher tax on gasoline to fund road repair and maintenance, he said. Evans said she would like the state to consider increasing the gas tax, or look at a transportation tax that could fund projects and maintenance. “If you aren’t allocating funds for transportation solutions the roads are only going to get worse,” she said. “As long as we are afraid to talk about raising the gas tax, the repairs are not going to get done.” WHAT IS THE LAW ON THIS SUBJECT? Generally, if there are issues that the State is not addressing, and an accident occurs, the State may be liable for the dangerous roadway. These are difficult and complicated cases, because the State has the benefit of some legal immunities that no one else gets. Not enough money to fix—is that really a defense to one of these?  The truth is, it may be. If you or a loved one is a victim of a dangerous roadway case, call us.  We have been handling these cases for many years and have had great success against the State and the Highway Department. The dangers of Arizona's highways, what can we do about it? published first on http://lawpallp.tumblr.com

[lisabarger]

Arizona Seeing Temperatures Up To 120 Degrees Now

Arizona Seeing Temperatures Up To 120 Degrees Now

With many Arizona counties seeing daytime highs over the 100-degree mark it is no wonder that Arizona Department of Health Services is warning that state’s residents to be heat-safe.

Saturday Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma Counties were placed on the Excessive Heat Warning list; yesterday Santa Cruz County was added. Today it was Cochise…

[aihcp]

Telemedicine: A convenient alternative

Some Medicare patients now have a convenient alternative to scheduling a doctor’s appointment, driving to the office and waiting for their name to be called for routine health care. They can connect via telemedicine, or remote diagnosis and treatment of patients through telecommunications technology. As it continues to evolve, telemedicine is increasingly being offered as a way for Medicare Advantage members to remotely talk with medical providers. Doctors can be easily accessed using a telephone or video through a laptop computer, tablet or other mobile device, whichever is most convenient. Telemedicine can take care of nonemergency situations such as common colds, allergies, headaches, nausea and sore throats. People can avoid making a trip to the emergency room or urgent care center and talk with a doctor as soon as symptoms arise. There are restrictions about what type of symptoms can be evaluated through telemedicine. It’s not recommended for emergency care or chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, and it doesn’t replace a primary care physician. However, it does provide critical access for patients to receive health care quickly and efficiently, said Tom Roben, desert region medical director for Humana in Arizona. Access is one of the prime factors driving telemedicine, particularly in rural areas, he noted. “This helps when visiting a primary care physician or urgent care center is not possible, such as late at night or weekends and holidays,” Roben said. Making an appointment is simple. Besides using their phone, tech-savvy patients can download a mobile app and create an account. Average wait time is often less than 10 minutes after requesting to speak with a doctor. Telemedicine sessions are less costly than personal visits to a doctor, Roben added. A study by Alliance for Connected Care found a potential savings of $126 for acute care. “Video and telephonic visits allow our members to receive health care when and where they need it so we can help them achieve their optimal health,” Roben said. “For Medicare beneficiaries, getting care when it’s needed may be able to help reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits.” Kingman Regional Medical Center has used telemedicine for people who’ve come into the emergency room with stroke symptoms. A contract neurologist can order a clot-busting drug that can be administered within three hours of the stroke. Telemedicine has been around for about 20 years, but hasn’t grown as quickly as some had expected. Technological advances in both health care and telecommunications have moved it along. The biggest barrier to a full-blown rollout of telemedicine practice is limited reimbursement. It’s going to take time to bend the cost curve in health care. As the value of telemedicine becomes more tangible, reimbursement should be less of an issue. “Coverage of telehealth services has been uneven across payers due in part to uncertainty regarding the value of telehealth and program integrity concerns regarding the duplication of services,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated in a 2016 report. There are also clinical and legal concerns. Health care organizations are working with local, state and federal agencies to come up with solutions to alleviate those concerns. Humana offers telemedicine to members on certain Medicare Advantage plans in Mohave, Yavapai, La Paz, Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties. Roben said people can expect a level of care on par with visiting their primary care physician. Telemedicine clinicians are often uniquely trained to treat patients virtually and must meet applicable state license requirements, he said. Patient issues were resolved in 83 percent of initial telemedicine sessions, according to one study. Humana sends a full medical history through the MDLIVE telemedicine platform that can be used in evaluation and treatment. All sessions are conducted using private, secure and confidential technology. Patients should consult their health insurance plan to see if telemedicine services are covered, Roben advised. For more on the service, visit www.humana.com/medicaretelemedicine.