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The majority of the world's population is bilingual; however, just 17% of the American population can speak a foreign language in addition to English. With a large Hispanic and Latinx population, the U.S. healthcare system has been unable to sufficiently treat a number of these patients. Hispanic-Americans are 50% more likely to die from diabetes and liver disease than non-Hispanic whites, and are also predisposed to obesity and high blood pressure. To better the care of Spanish-speaking patients, the University of Arizona will begin offering Spanish-language courses to its health sciences majors in spring 2017. Dr. Francisco Moreno, physician and director of the UA Health Sciences-Hispanic Center of Excellence, hopes that this new program, in conjunction with the university...

Approximately 37% of consumers report looking at an outdoor ad every time they pass one, but Phoenix drivers may be in for a surprise during their commutes. An anti-marijuana group has been posting billboards across the Phoenix area as part of a campaign to halt the legalization of marijuana across the state. The group has started their campaign just two weeks before voters will be able to have their say at the polls. Rather than focusing on smoking devices, the billboard campaign has its focus on edibles. If marijuana is legalized, edibles, or foods that contain marijuana, would be legal to buy and sell. The major concern of this group is that some edibles will be packaged and marketed in a way that might be attractive to children who might accidentally consume them. The...

Whitehouse Cove Resort Homes, one of the country's largest communities of manufactured homes, has been acquired by Shamrock Holdings for $7.75 million. Shamrock Holdings is an Arizona-based limited liability company. According to Inside Business, the Whitehouse Cove Community consists of 73 lots, waterfront properties, and 14.8 acres worth of manufactured homes, and a newly built 156 wet-slip marina on the water. With more than 17 million U.S. citizens living in manufactured homes, this form of living is larger than ever before. In late October, WRCB reported that fire officials across the country have been warning residents of both mobile and manufactured homes of fire dangers. In 2014, in Arizona, the death percentage when a home caught on fire stood at 83.3%, which is much h...

Enforcing prevention efforts to minimize the chances of hospital-borne infections has shown to have a big impact on the rate of bloodstream infections. At short-term acute care hospitals where these prevention methods were highlighted and highly enforced, the number of central-line bloodstream infections was reduced by 50% in 2014, compared to the numbers in 2008. These methods are nothing radical. Instead, they have been known to be as simple as a reminder checklist for hospital staff. These checklists serve as reminders for clinicians to wash their hands, to clean the skin of a patient, or to change soiled dressings. Although it's assumed that hospital staff will wash hands thoroughly and clean surfaces, many facilities fall short of the goal. Keeping a level of high expectations is p...

Research suggests that gratitude emerges in children between the ages of seven and 10, but as those children go back to school, new research also suggests that that age group could benefit from morning exercise and yoga. Gym classes are typically held during school hours, but many schools have reduced physical activity time in favor of academic studies. Despite that, studies have frequently shown that physical activity before school can help students stay focused. Recently, researchers at Arizona State university decided to put more work into that theory. Researchers observed 77 students in grades three and four from a high-achieving private school and an average-performing public school. Obesity rates were 24% and 39% at the two schools, respectively. During the 2013-14 school...

Pet owners in the U.S. spend approximately $13.6 billion on veterinary care every year, but for some organizations, fundraising can help ease some of those costs and help them provide better care for animals. The Arizona Humane Society (AHS) is one of those organizations, and through a pet telethon they recently organized, they have been able to raise over $500,000 to put towards their cause. Upwards of 17,000 pets were taken in by AHS last year alone, and the funds raised by the pet telethon will go towards providing the best care possible for those still in their shelter. All of the money they received was acquired within a two-hour time frame at the telethon, a truly impressive feat for such a limited time span. "We rely on the community to help us support our kitten nursery...

If you want to, for as little as one dollar a day, you can rent a sheep. Finally! That's not all you can rent, though. Chicken, bees, goats, and even falcons are all on the market. The real estate value of U.S. farm land contributes approximately $2 trillion, but that number could increase once people start renting falcons by the dozens. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Falcon Force supplies farms and orchards across the country with trained falcons. "We're live security guards," said Vahe' Alaverdian, master falconer and owner of Falcon Force. Alaverdian owns 39 raptors and does work in Arizona, California, Oregon, and a few other states. Each falcon is supervised and kept at a specific weight so they refrain from eating pests around the farm property. The price to rent a ...

The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a rough season, with a current record of 55 wins and 76 losses for the regular season. That puts them in last place in the National League West, and second-to-last place in the National League overall standings, ahead of only the Atlanta Braves. With just a month left of regular season play, the Diamondbacks are a full 18 games behind the NL West leaders, the LA Dodgers. While they're well out of the running for postseason wildcard standings, many fans are wondering: What's the future of the team? "As 2016 proved, anything that can go wrong has," writes Michael McDermott for AZ Snakepit, "but that's not a valid excuse for avoiding change where it is needed. The worst thing the team can do is double down on a mistake as opposed to owning up and workin...

An American Red Cross survey reveals that 44% of Americans don't know basic water-safety skills, including proper precautions to take in order to keep the pool clean, which is causing a nasty issue. A parasite is swimming around numerous pools in the Phoenix area, infecting swimmers with diarrhea and other gastrointestinal illnesses. The microscopic parasite, cryptosporidium, was first reported on August 4 in pools throughout Maricopa County. According to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, more than 100 people have been sickened at about 20 pools across the county. The parasite in question, called Crypto, spreads in swimming pools when an infected person contaminates the water with fecal matter. The parasite can survive for long periods of time, even in chlorinated wate...

There may be over 100 billion global searches conducted every month, but not all of them are harmless. Recently, one Internet cafe's activity resulted in its shutdown and several arrests being made. The Arizona Department of Gaming has reported that Mega Byte, an Internet cafe in Glendale, has been shut down. In addition, several people associated with the business have been arrested for running an illegal gambling ring. The department said that after paying cash, patrons at the cafe were then allowed to play casino-style games at several computer terminals throughout the building. Glendale police and several undercover officers were involved in the case, which took several months to unfold. Bethany Ann Graham was arrested on multiple charges after officers identified her as on...