Arizona Public Health Association AZPHA

10/14/2026

Ten months. 285 cases. 107 households. One public health team that didn’t flinch.

When a measles case was confirmed in Colorado City in August 2025 — four days before the first day of school, in a community with historically low vaccination rates, four hours from most of their staff — the Mohave County Department of Public Health showed up anyway.

They traveled to meet with community leaders. They staffed emotionally charged public meetings. Nurses stayed in the area for days at a time to provide vaccinations. Staff worked 50-60 hour weeks, after hours and on weekends, while keeping regular department operations running.

On June 9, 2026, after 10 months, the outbreak was declared over.

This is what commitment to underserved communities looks like in practice — and it’s exactly why AZPHA is proud to honor the Mohave County Department of Public Health with the 2026 Elsie Eyer Commitment to Underserved People (CUP) Award.

Join us on October 29th at Social Hall Tempe to celebrate them and all of our 2026 awardees.

🔗 Register: https://azpha.wildapricot.org/event-6788203%20

10/13/2026

Everyone has a health care story. On October 26th, Arizonans share theirs.

Arizona Talks is bringing together students, health leaders, advocates, and community members for Stories for Health — an evening of personal storytelling followed by a policy panel focused on the real state of Arizona’s health care system and what meaningful solutions look like.

AZPHA’s Will Humble joins a distinguished panel that includes Stephanie Innes of the Arizona Republic, Shannon Clancy of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Matt Jewett of Children’s Action Alliance, Brenda Cardenas of Adelante Healthcare, and Dr. Daniel Derksen of the University of Arizona — who AZPHA is also honoring with the Senator Andy Nichols Award just days later on October 29th.

This is exactly the kind of cross-sector conversation Arizona needs right now.

📅 Monday, October 26 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM
📍 Grand Canyon University ABSN – West Valley | 2600 W Camelback Rd, Phoenix
🔗 https://arizonatalks.org/events/stories-for-health

10/13/2026

Arizona is one of the deadliest states for pedestrians and among the most dangerous for fatal red-light-running crashes. This is not the moment to ban a proven safety tool. 🚦

Proposition 319 is on Arizona’s November 3 ballot — and AZPHA has formally opposed it. The measure would ban new photo enforcement programs statewide and require cities with existing programs to put them to a voter referendum in 2027.

The data is clear: red-light cameras reduced fatal red-light-running collisions by 21% in large cities, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. When Tempe restored its traffic cameras in 2024, the city pointed to a study showing a 65% decrease in crashes at camera-equipped intersections in Scottsdale.

AZPHA joins AAA Arizona and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns in opposing the measure — not because traffic cameras are above scrutiny, but because a sweeping statewide ban removes a life-saving tool from communities that need it, including those that don’t yet have programs but may need them as Arizona grows.

A no vote keeps those options on the table. A yes vote closes the door permanently for any city without a contract by December 31, 2026.

Know before you vote. 🔗

Arizona voters will decide whether state agencies and cities can use photo radar to catch red-light runners and speedy drivers.

10/12/2026

Arizona’s public health community has no shortage of extraordinary people doing extraordinary work. Today, we’re proud to announce our 2026 AZPHA Excellence in Public Health Award recipients. 💙

🏆 Policymaker of the Year — Pima County Board of Supervisors
🏆 Senator Andy Nichols Award — Dan Derksen, MD
🏆 Elsie Eyer Commitment to Underserved People Award — Mohave County Department of Public Health
🏆 Cele Cohen Nursing Award — Karina Zavala, RN
🏆 Harold B. Woodward Award — Jennifer H. Bonnett, MPA
🏆 Pete Wertheim Public Health Leadership Award — Lisa Villarroel, MD, MPH
🏆 Corporate Public Health Service Award — Association for the Chronically Mentally Ill (ACMI)
🏆 HEMMY Award — Western Region Public Health Training Center

Join us in celebrating these remarkable honorees at the AZPHA Public Health Awards Ceremony on October 29th at Social Hall Tempe — 5:30 to 8:30 PM.

Tickets are still available. We hope to see you there. 🔗 https://azpha.org/2026-azpha-public-health-awards/

10/05/2026

As of October 1, more than 22,000 Arizona refugees and asylees lost their AHCCCS coverage under H.R. 1's new Medicaid eligibility restrictions. 📋

Arizona Luminaria reports on what that looks like in practice: doctors scrambling to maintain care for cancer patients and pregnant women, resettlement agencies working to find alternative coverage, and providers with no clear answers for people who need insulin, blood pressure medication, or specialty care that federally qualified health centers cannot replace.

The consequences extend beyond the individuals affected. Providers warn that removing coverage from a younger, generally healthier population and pushing them toward emergency rooms will increase costs for everyone — and strain a health system already under pressure.

AZPHA data is cited in the piece: AHCCCS has sent notices to 22,263 people likely affected by the changes. These are legally present people who did nothing wrong. The rules changed around them.

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“I feel like I’m just trying not to let patients die,” Dr. Sommer Aldulaimi says in an exasperated voice.  She’s been scrambling to prepare refugees set to lose their health care on Oct. 1. Aldulaimi is co-director of the University of Arizona Refugee Health Program. Hundreds of thousands ...

09/25/2026

Maricopa County is on pace for its second-deadliest heat season on record. 🌡️

So far in 2026, 230 deaths have been confirmed as heat-related — with another 567 still under investigation. If the confirmation rate holds, the county could see 636 heat deaths this year, second only to 2023's record of 645.

What makes this especially troubling: heat mitigation resources have only expanded since last year, when the county reduced heat deaths by 178. Officials are frustrated. The resources are there. And people are still dying.

AZPHA's Will Humble points to two structural factors driving the crisis: Arizona's landlord-friendly eviction laws — which include no restrictions on evicting people during heat emergencies — and the 2023 court-ordered dismantling of The Zone, which dispersed Phoenix's unhoused population across the Valley and made it dramatically harder to reach people with help.

Cooling centers alone won't solve this. Housing policy, eviction law, and homelessness are heat issues.

🔗 Read the full Axios Phoenix report:

The county could see more than 600 heat deaths for the third time in four years.

09/24/2026

AZPHA is seeking passionate public health professionals to join our Board of Directors.

As Arizona's affiliate of the American Public Health Association, AZPHA's Board plays a critical role in shaping the organization's advocacy agenda, informing policy priorities, and ensuring public health professionals across the state have a strong, unified voice.

If you work in public health (across research, practice, policy, nursing, community health, or communications) and want to help build a stronger and healthier Arizona, we'd love to hear from you.

Board members are expected to:
✅ Attend monthly virtual board meetings (3rd Friday, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM)
✅ Participate in at least one committee
✅ Serve as an active advocate and ambassador for AZPHA's mission
✅ Help identify partnerships, funding opportunities, and resources

Applications are reviewed by a nomination committee, with final selection made by AZPHA's full membership — ensuring the Board reflects the diversity and breadth of Arizona's public health community.

🔗 Learn more and apply here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/ArizonaPublicHealthAssociation/_2026ArizonaPublicHealthAssociationAzPHABoardOfDirectorsCandidateApplication

09/23/2026

Arizona is squarely in the crosshairs of threats to the 2026 midterms. Public health professionals have a role to play.

Join AZPHA this Friday, September 25th at 9 AM for a special Coffee & Conversations webinar presented by Protect Democracy: Defending Democracy in the 2026 Midterms — How Arizonans Can Take Action.

This session will break down the Deceive, Disrupt, Deny framework currently being used to undermine the 2026 election cycle — strategies that build on what was deployed in 2022 and 2024 — and explore how those tactics are playing out specifically in Arizona right now.

This webinar goes beyond the national picture to identify concrete, specific actions the public health sector can take to protect the vote in our own communities.

📅 Friday, September 25 | 9:00 AM AZ Time (Noon ET) | Online via Zoom
🔗 Register here:

September AZPHA Coffee & Conversations ‘Defending Democracy in the 2026 Midterms: How Arizonans Can Take Action’ Friday, September 25 | 9am AZ Time (Noon ET) | Register Here For the first time in modern American history, the machinery of the federal government — which is meant to serve the peo...

09/22/2026

AZPHA formally opposes Prop 319 — and this ABC15 report explains exactly why the permanent restriction on new programs is the real concern. 🚦

Will Humble sums it up: "Is that what growing cities really want, to tie the hands of people 10, 20, 30 years from now?"

A yes vote doesn't just affect existing cameras. It closes the door permanently for any Arizona community without a contract by December 31, 2026.

Know before you vote. 🔗

Arizona voters will decide this November whether to place new restrictions on the use of speed and red-light cameras across the state.

09/21/2026

Arizona's governor race now has a direct public health dimension — and the stakes are significant.

Republican nominee Andy Biggs released a 12-point MAHA-aligned health platform this week, with vaccine policy at the top of the list. The proposals include ending vaccine mandates in Arizona, requiring schools to more prominently promote exemption options to parents, and prohibiting colleges and universities from requiring immunizations as a condition for enrollment.

AZPHA's Will Humble shared with KJZZ what loosening school vaccine requirements would mean in practice — particularly in a state already experiencing its worst measles outbreak in decades, with kindergarten vaccination rates at 87.4% and exemptions at a record high.

"By having high vaccination rates, you're able to help protect those kids who can't get vaccinated because of legitimate medical reasons," Humble said. And on the proposal to make exemptions even easier to obtain: "It's as simple as saying, 'I don't want to vaccinate my kid, and I'm going to send them to school anyway.' That's the way it is now. He wants to loosen it even from that?"

Humble also underscores a point that goes beyond legislation: Arizona's governor has direct authority to appoint the directors of ADHS and AHCCCS. "Depending on who you select and what direction you give those agency directors, you can have a profound impact."

This is an important read for anyone who cares about the future of public health in Arizona.

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Rep. Andy Biggs released a list of health policy commitments in his campaign for Arizona governor. Public health experts say proposals to loosen vaccine requirements could have dangerous consequences.