Assessing and addressing the public’s changing needs is a challenging task. The Health Department uses a variety of measures to evaluate program accomplishments while holding itself accountable to the taxpayers. The economic challenges faced by the County and its residents require the Department to rely more on quality improvement approaches to maximize the limited resources. Here are some highlights of the Health Department’s achievements in efficiently providing needed public health services.

Pima County Department of Environmental Quality monitors ambient (outdoor) air pollutants throughout eastern Pima County, including the Tucson metropolitan area and Green Valley. There are six principal pollutants, called “criteria” pollutants that are monitored in accordance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency to comply with the Federal Clean Air Act. These standards were established to protect public health and the environment from harmful levels of air pollution.

The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality has prepared this document to be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX. The purpose of the Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan is to determine if the network is achieving the air monitoring objectives specified in 40 CFR Part 58 Appendix D, which mandate adherence to certain number, type and location requirements of monitoring sites and specific site criteria such as monitoring inlet height. The review should also determine if modifications should be made to the network (e.g. through the termination or relocation of unnecessary stations or addition of new stations). In addition, the review is necessary in order to ensure that the residents of Pima County are provided adequate, representative and useful air quality data, and to provide adequate protection to public health.

From 2010 to early 2013, under the leadership of the Pima County Health Department, organizations and community members engaged in a comprehensive community health assessment and improvement planning process. The goal of this intensive, community-driven process was to examine the current health needs of Pima County residents and determine how to best address them. This document is an update of the Healthy Pima Initiative.

This report is a summary of the Pima County Community Health Assessment that was conducted in 2011. As facilitator, the Pima County Health Department examined existing data describing the community, surveyed residents and stakeholders about their perceptions of the health status of Pima County, and presented these findings to the Community Health Assessment Taskforce. The community members who comprised the taskforce evaluated the information and identified five priorities that would make a significant positive impact on the health status of Pima County residents.

From 2010 to early 2013, under the leadership of the Pima County Health Department, organizations and community members engaged in a comprehensive community health assessment and improvement planning process. The goal of this intensive, community-driven process was to examine the current health needs of Pima County residents and determine how to best address them.