As someone who used to live near Sierra Vista and as someone who has had extensive dealings with AZ Dept. of Health Services (over another matter), I am very disinclined to trust ADHS when it comes to anything.
Please allow me to enlighten readers as to some of the many dodges DHS has used. First, there's the "bureaucratic shuffle" in which DHS claims something is the responsibility of DES/ CPS, and DES/ CPS claims it's the responsibility of DHS. The object is to tire people out who make complaints so they go away.
DHS was (don't know about now) required to keep "washed" (identifying names removed) copies of complaints against facilities for public viewing. DHS would keep one or two for public viewing and fail to show dozens of other complaints against the facility. When members of the public and reporters who had been given (with permission) the case file numbers of other complaints and demanded to see them too, DHS then engaged in more of the bureaucratic shuffle with the Tucson office claiming they were in the Phoenix office, and the Phoenix office claiming they were in the Tucson office.
Back then many of the rank and file employees of DHS wanted to correct problems. The problem was with upper management. The revolving door between government "service" and very lucrative employment in the private sector is very much alive in AZ. I don't know if many of the rank and file employees today want to correct problems as I got the impression that DHS was a very demoralizing place to work for anyone who really does care about others and about society.
In closing I want to mention an "investigation" that DHS did of a problem facility. Informed that the facility was extremely short-staffed, was pulling teenage patients out of their classes to put a new roof on the facility, was using patients in the kitchens, and was even using patients to man the front desk and giving those patients the keys to the facility, the DHS "investigation" consisted of driving by the facility on a Saturday night and concluding that because the lights were on, everything was fine.
BTW, one of the factors in my husband and I moving out of AZ was the rotten way the state treats the children of AZ and the failure to safeguard the health and safety of children. All too often in AZ, money talks and trumps every other consideration, including protecting children.
Interested readers also may want to check the archives of The Star and The AZ Republic for stories on the lupus and cancer clusters in Nogales, AZ and the state's response to those.
I'm saying that it's a good idea to oversee DHS and not take anything the agency says at face value given its track record in the past of underplaying and even denying problems.
There very well may be more problems and more leukemia cases connected to Ft. Huachuca/Sierra Vista than DHS is acknowledging.
There are all kinds of ways to "load" data and produce statistics that say what one wants them to say. For example, cut down on the area being studied. If cases aren't being counted, the problem doesn't look as bad as it really is. It's a good idea to also learn how many leukemia cases have been reported in western Cochise County in Hereford, Huachuca City, Whetstone, etc. Also if the child has been on post. Compare the number of cases in the western part of the county to the number in the eastern, adjusting for population.
Also, don't allow cases to "slip through the cracks" - like the family that moved from SV. Military installations constantly have families moving in and out. The statistics can be compared to other, comparable-sized installations or adjusted for population.
If you can, locate someone who knows the procedures for medical statistics, and learn from the person. If DHS does try to underplay how bad the situation is, don't let them get away with it. DHS could have changed since I and the people I worked with had dealings with the agency, but given the agency's track record it's best to err on the side of watching it like a hawk when it comes to anything affecting public safety.
4 comments:
As someone who used to live near Sierra Vista and as someone who has had extensive dealings with AZ Dept. of Health Services (over another matter), I am very disinclined to trust ADHS when it comes to anything.
Please allow me to enlighten readers as to some of the many dodges DHS has used. First, there's the "bureaucratic shuffle" in which DHS claims something is the responsibility of DES/ CPS, and DES/ CPS claims it's the responsibility of DHS. The object is to tire people out who make complaints so they go away.
DHS was (don't know about now) required to keep "washed" (identifying names removed) copies of complaints against facilities for public viewing. DHS would keep one or two for public viewing and fail to show dozens of other complaints against the facility. When members of the public and reporters who had been given (with permission) the case file numbers of other complaints and demanded to see them too, DHS then engaged in more of the bureaucratic shuffle with the Tucson office claiming they were in the Phoenix office, and the Phoenix office claiming they were in the Tucson office.
Back then many of the rank and file employees of DHS wanted to correct problems. The problem was with upper management. The revolving door between government "service" and very lucrative employment in the private sector is very much alive in AZ. I don't know if many of the rank and file employees today want to correct problems as I got the impression that DHS was a very demoralizing place to work for anyone who really does care about others and about society.
In closing I want to mention an "investigation" that DHS did of a problem facility. Informed that the facility was extremely short-staffed, was pulling teenage patients out of their classes to put a new roof on the facility, was using patients in the kitchens, and was even using patients to man the front desk and giving those patients the keys to the facility, the DHS "investigation" consisted of driving by the facility on a Saturday night and concluding that because the lights were on, everything was fine.
BTW, one of the factors in my husband and I moving out of AZ was the rotten way the state treats the children of AZ and the failure to safeguard the health and safety of children. All too often in AZ, money talks and trumps every other consideration, including protecting children.
cactusrose
Interested readers also may want to check the archives of The Star and The AZ Republic for stories on the lupus and cancer clusters in Nogales, AZ and the state's response to those.
Are you saying that the instances of leukemia are worse than they already appear?
Gail
I'm saying that it's a good idea to oversee DHS and not take anything the agency says at face value given its track record in the past of underplaying and even denying problems.
There very well may be more problems and more leukemia cases connected to Ft. Huachuca/Sierra Vista than DHS is acknowledging.
There are all kinds of ways to "load" data and produce statistics that say what one wants them to say. For example, cut down on the area being studied. If cases aren't being counted, the problem doesn't look as bad as it really is. It's a good idea to also learn how many leukemia cases have been reported in western Cochise County in Hereford, Huachuca City, Whetstone, etc. Also if the child has been on post. Compare the number of cases in the western part of the county to the number in the eastern, adjusting for population.
Also, don't allow cases to "slip through the cracks" - like the family that moved from SV. Military installations constantly have families moving in and out. The statistics can be compared to other, comparable-sized installations or adjusted for population.
If you can, locate someone who knows the procedures for medical statistics, and learn from the person. If DHS does try to underplay how bad the situation is, don't let them get away with it. DHS could have changed since I and the people I worked with had dealings with the agency, but given the agency's track record it's best to err on the side of watching it like a hawk when it comes to anything affecting public safety.
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