DHHS News

New Plan Unveiled to Help Stop Suicides in Utah

(Salt Lake City, UT) – Suicide prevention experts from the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH), and Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition unveiled...
Last updated: January 10, 2017

Utah Pharmacists Can Now Dispense Naloxone without a Prescription

(Salt Lake, UT) – Today, the executive director of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) signed a statewide standing order allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone, without a prior prescription, to...
Last updated: December 8, 2016

Untreated Tooth Decay Still a Problem for Many Utah Children

(Salt Lake City, UT) – Nearly two-thirds (66%) of Utah children between the ages of 6 and 9 experienced tooth decay in 2015, according to a new study conducted by...
Last updated: December 2, 2016

New Report Highlights Utah’s Top Languages

(Salt Lake City, UT) – The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) recently released a new report listing the top 20 languages spoken in Utah. Reports for the six most populated...
Last updated: November 30, 2016

Traveling to a Warmer Climate for the Holidays?

(Salt Lake City, UT) – While mosquito season has wrapped up in Utah and most other states that experience freezing temperatures in the winter, active Zika virus transmission is still...
Last updated: November 21, 2016

Recognizing the Critical Health Care Provided by Rural Hospitals

(Salt Lake City, UT) – Since 2010, 71 rural hospitals across the country have closed, in part due to changes in policies which tend to reward hospitals that do a...
Last updated: November 14, 2016

Media contacts

For media inquiries, contact our on-call Public Information Officers (PIO) at:

Joe Dougherty, director of communications

News releases and media statements

Spanish news releases and media statements

We strive to provide all news releases and media statements in Spanish. Our language access team can provide translation services by contacting them at languageaccess.utah.gov.  

Our graphic and writing standards

Our agency name is the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Use DHHS if an acronym is needed. 

  • DHHS graphic standards—This guide outlines how to use our logo, colors, fonts, and imagery in printed and electronic media. 
  • DHHS logos 
  • DHHS writing style guide—This guide creates clear and consistent language and tone across all written products, both internal and external to our agency.

Media guides and safe messaging

How we talk about suicide, mental health, and traumatic events matters. When we follow safe messaging guidelines, we contribute to a hopeful narrative about triumph over adversity. We communicate that support is available. Safe messaging promotes resiliency, encourages help-seeking, publicizes prevention successes, and encourages actions to help prevent suicide. 

When writing about suicide, mental health, or traumatic events follow safe messaging guidelines. Here are some of our favorite resources.