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Quitting smoking, vaping, or chewing is one of the best things a person can do for their health
Last month the Great American Smokeout served as a reminder for people who smoke to make a plan to quit for a healthier future. But quitting smoking is possible any time, and it’s one of the best choices a person can make to improve their health and protect their loved ones from cancer-causing chemicals.
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the US, accounting for about one in five deaths each year. While cigarette smoking rates have continued to decline in recent years
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Idahoans who haven't gotten a Star Card ID yet may want to start planning so they're ready for the deadline, which was recently extended to May 2025.
At that time Idahoans will need a Star Card, U.S. Passport, military ID, or some other form of REAL-ID compliant identification
I know the employees at the Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) work really hard to serve Idahoans. But I love it when that hard work is recognized on a national level.
Idaho’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, helps low-income
Public health officials around the country are reminding people that it's OK and appropriate to mask up. This is especially true entering the season of holiday parties and family gatherings.
COVID-19 continues to spread, and it's joined this fall and winter by higher levels of
Healthcare systems in rural areas like Idaho face unique challenges. More than 88 percent of Idaho is classified as rural. DHW’s Bureau of Rural health and Primary Care is working to confront those challenges in several ways.
More than 98 percent of Idaho faces a
Tamara Prisock, administrator for the Division of Licensing and Certification (L&C) and a member of the department’s senior leadership team, is retiring today. She has worked for the department for 37 years in various roles, and for the last 10 years in her current position
Family caregivers represent more than one in five Americans, and that number continues to grow as the population increases and more people are diagnosed with debilitating disorders that require daily care. In Idaho, there are more than 300,000 caregivers, with 70 percent also
Friday marks a day off for government workers to observe an important holiday: Veterans Day.
Nov. 11 was formerly called Armistice Day for the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. The federal legal holiday was observed on the fourth Monday in October in
RSV season has been officially declared in Idaho with virus activity increasing over the past two weeks across the state. There is no vaccine to protect against infection with RSV, but you can take action to help prevent spread. Many of the actions we recommended to prevent
It can be a scary thing to have a baby, even in the best of situations.
When situations are not the best, it can be downright terrifying.
In my best world, all babies would be born to parents who can care for them. While I would hope that no parent feels the need to give up
Each fall as the weather cools, the Department of Health and Welfare gets questions from anglers eager to cast lines in lakes or rivers where water quality warnings were made.
Water quality warnings are often because of detection of harmful cyanobacterial blooms
The weather in Idaho has officially tipped toward fall and winter, with cooler (even freezing!) temperatures, and more rain and snow. That means we’ll all be spending more time inside, and viruses like those that cause COVID-19 and the flu will become more widespread