Many reproductive health resources in Cochise County focus on preventing teen pregnancies and promoting family planning, leaving abortion and sex education limited. Limitations include a slant toward abstinence-only, Christian-based education in some schools and organizations, and a bias against homosexuality in HIV education. A lack of free abortion referral services and “women’s right-to-know” counseling sessions earned Arizona a…
Access to health care in rural and underserved communities could be improved as telemedicine progresses and advances. At the same time, officials say, using video technology to reach patients could help rural hospitals in Arizona and around the world stay afloat as they combat financial woes and doctor shortages. “There has been 58 rural hospitals that closed in this country…
Arizona’s farmers are getting older — a lot older. The average age of a principal farm operator in the state is 61.1 years old, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That age has risen steadily over the past three decades from 50.5 in 1982. Farmers, officials and students…
A sea of green trees fill the valley, jagged pillars of rock pierce the crystal blue sky, and the sun reflects off tiny glass fragments embedded within the fossilized volcanic ash. Hidden away 34 miles southeast of Willcox is Chiricahua National Monument, a wonderland of balancing rocks that could become the nation’s next national park. Recently, members of the…
Nestled in the Rió Yaqui basin 19 miles east of Douglas, down Geronimo Trail, is an ecological wonder unknown to many. This unique area where Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico meet is the result of four vastly different ecological regions colliding. The Sierra Madres, Rocky Mountains, Sonora Desert, and Chihuahua Desert converge to form an uncommon wetland…
