A new state-ordered mandate on insurance companies could soon mean more accessible -- and definitely more affordable -- health care in rural areas of Arizona.

Saying a loving home trumps the chance of disease, state lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to allowing foster children to be placed in homes where other youngsters are not immunized.

Just weeks after a 15-year-old collapsed from cardiac arrest in a Gilbert restaurant and was rushed to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, he walked back into the hospital on a recent Friday to thank the men and women who helped save his life.

Gov. Jan Brewer rallied doctors and nurses at the Capitol on Tuesday in her bid to get the necessary votes to expand the state's Medicaid program.

Expanding Arizona’s Medicaid program is vital to the wellbeing of children and their parents — our state’s working poor. As Arizona’s leading professional pediatric organization, we strongly urge support for Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal.

Director Kief Davidson’s journey through Rwanda and Sudan was not only a filmmaking venture, but a life-or-death trek for eight Rwandan children afflicted with rheumatic heart disease. A firsthand look into their lives and the high-risk surgical procedures they must endure, “Open Heart” is a powerful documentary bringing much-needed attention to a disease that affects nearly 18 million people worldwide.

Influenza is now “"widespread”" in Arizona, according to the latest report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Hospital emergency rooms in the East Valley “exploded” with patients in the last two weeks, health officials reported.

East Valley Pediatrics announced it has joined Banner Medical Group, part of the Banner Health family. East Valley Pediatrics has 18 physicians and 11 locations around the East Valley, including clinics in Apache Junction, Casa Grande, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Queen Creek. Two sites in Mesa and Gilbert will continue to provide after-hours services, as well.

A major fundraiser to support cancer research and programs for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Phoenix Children’s Hospital is continuing to build on its holiday tradition.

A major fundraiser to support cancer research and programs for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Phoenix Children’s Hospital is continuing to build on its holiday tradition.

Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers’ Community Outreach Immunization Program, in collaboration with Arizona’s Vaccine for Children Program, sponsors free immunization clinics for children, as well as low-cost immunizations for adults

Hey mom and dad: Halloween’s not really all that scary — except when it comes to traffic safety.

The Labor Department announced that the jobless rate hit 7.8 percent in September, making it the first time since it has been below 8 percent in almost four years. While improving, that statistic still leaves a large number of people out of work.

Teenage girls may prefer the pill, the patch or even wishful thinking, but their doctors should be recommending IUDs or hormonal implants — long-lasting and more effective birth control that you don’t have to remember to use every time, the nation’s leading gynecologists group said on Sept. 20.

Thousands of insured children who may have received vaccines from county health departments — including one in Mesa — are now being encouraged to go to their family doctors for their shots.

Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert medical centers’ Community Outreach Immunization Program, in collaboration with Arizona’s Vaccine for Children Program, sponsors free immunization clinics for children as well as low-cost immunizations for adults.

Does your child get upset doing homework?

At home, Rosie Garcia has a lot of pets — dogs, cats, fish and birds, doves to be exact, named Cloud and Sun.

Team Orthodontics and Jungle Roots Children’s Dentistry have joined forces to open a new location offering coordinated, one-stop pediatric and orthodontic care for patients 18 months to 18 years old. The new location, opening Sept. 15, will be in the San Tan Village mall in Gilbert. Dr. Ken Danyluk of Team Orthodontics and Dr. John Culp of Jungle Roots both operate separate Ahwatukee practices and will continue to do so after opening the San Tan Village location.

Parents should be aware that the bacterial infection pertussis, commonly referred to as whooping cough, is being seen at a higher rate than in previous years in the community.

Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert medical centers’ Community Outreach Immunization Program, in collaboration with Arizona’s Vaccine for Children Program, will sponsor free immunization clinics for children, as well as low-cost immunizations for adults, several times in the next few weeks.