Public Health
Public Health is a key component of the Dept. of Public Policy and Advocacy. Primary functions include working with the IMS Committee on Public Health and managing IMS public health initiatives. Staff also research and support various public health efforts that impact Iowans.
2011 Vaccine Storage Guide Available
The Vaccine Storage and Handling Guide from the CDC has been updated. This document provides guidelines for storage and handling of selected vaccines. This replaces the Vaccine Management: Storage and Handling document. Vaccine Storage and Handling Guide.
Governor Terry Branstad has announced a plan to make Iowa the Healthiest State within five years as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The Healthiest State Initiative is a community and business-led, publicly endorsed statewide effort that will engage Iowans to improve their overall...
Effective June 6, 2011, Merck will no longer ship Varivax and Zostavax to customers using dry ice.
In the past, Varivax and Zostavax have been shipped using dry ice. Both of these vaccines will now be packed for shipping with 6 frozen gel packs as refrigerant in the shipping containers. The gel packs...
The Iowa Department of Public Health and Iowa Health Systems have collaborated to develop www.eatplay521.com, an online pediatric obesity prevention toolkit for Iowa health care providers. The goal of Eat and Play the 5-2-1 Way is to assist providers in addressing childhood overweight and obesity in...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its approval of the use of the shingles vaccine, Zostavax, to include patients between the ages of 50 and 59. Zostavax is already approved for patients 60 years and older. Shingles causes blisters and severe pain that can last from several weeks to years and is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox....
Iowa ranks at the top among all states in overall indicators of children's health, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a private organization that promotes a high performing health care system. The Commonwealth Fund examined how the health care system is working for children in each state by examining state performance in 20 key indicators.
In its...
Iowa e-Health is a public and private collaboration that was established to promote the use and exchange of electronic health information. This includes implementing the Iowa Health Information Exchange (HIE), and encouraging Iowa health care providers to use electronic health records (EHRs). In close partnership with many other Iowa organizations,...
