Michiganders living with opioid use disorder have three FDA-approved medications they can turn to for treatment: methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. Here’s how they work.
Robin Erb
Robin Erb covers a range of health issues in Michigan, including the industry of aging and the issues facing older residents in Michigan, a state that is aging faster than most others. She joined Bridge in 2019 and has led investigations that tracked millions of dollars in opioid settlement money and explored severe worker shortages in health care that threaten lives and the state's economy. She chronicled the shock and grief of Michigan families in COVID’s wake, as well as state policy decisions and the triumphs of medical breakthroughs. Robin previously spent six years covering health at the Detroit Free Press, documenting the battle over, and the eventual passage of, the Affordable Care Act and Michigan's Medicaid expansion. She studied communications and political science at Miami University and has a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Lourdes University (Toledo, Ohio). She and her husband raised two wonderful children — but have failed miserably at training their Beagle-Bassets — in southeast Michigan. Reach her at rerb@bridgemi.com.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
There’s a proven way to help kick opioids. Not enough in Michigan use it
Federal and state policy changes mean more doctors can prescribe a drug known to help patients fight addiction. But advocates say stigma and other barriers keep Michigan patients from accessing medication assisted treatment.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan farmers must step up bird flu fight under new emergency order
Avian flu has spread to livestock in at least six Michigan counties. Now, the state is ordering farmers to take more action — the ‘most comprehensive measures in the country.’
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Infant mental health: Michigan clinic aims to build resiliency for a lifetime
Michigan families say the state’s behavioral health system is overwhelmed and understaffed. A new Detroit clinic offers a jump start on mental health — sometimes just days after birth.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
U-M expert probes psychological effect of active-shooter drills in schools
Active-shooter drills are required in Michigan’s schools, but the forms they take vary — from tabletop exercises among staff to school-day drills that feature actors posing as assailants. A federal panel will ask: To what end and at what cost?
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Bill would ease access to birth control for minors, others in Michigan
Michigan lawmakers Thursday moved forward legislation to allow pharmacists to write scripts for birth control, whatever a patient’s age.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As opioid funds flood Michigan, tensions rise over how best to reverse ODs
Some argue a need for more potent — and pricier — overdose reversal drugs; others frame that effort as drugmakers peddling fear. The wrong choice could cost lives.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Mpox back in Michigan, though numbers are lower than 2022 outbreak
Since February, health officials say they’ve detected 16 new cases of mpox, an infection primarily found among men having sex with other men. Just four cases were reported last year.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan’s fifth measles case found in Detroit. Others potentially exposed
A child in Detroit has measles and may have exposed others to the highly contagious virus, according to health officials. It’s the fifth known case this year in Michigan, which had gone four years without.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Eclipse blocks sun, brings out smiles from Michigan to Ohio
Michigan welcomed a total solar eclipse to a tiny sliver of the state in Luna Pier Monday but thousands of others drove to Ohio and beyond to witness the last total solar eclipse that many will see for 20 years, turning highway traffic to a standstill.