Two Michigan research nonprofits have compiled an updated health measurement for the state, and it’s grim. Michigan has fallen to 39th of 50 states in overall health, but policy changes can make a difference.
Robin Erb
Robin Erb covers health care and aging for Bridge Michigan, focusing on a state that is aging faster than most. She has led investigations tracking opioid settlement money and health care worker shortages, and previously spent six years at the Detroit Free Press covering the Affordable Care Act and Michigan's Medicaid expansion. She holds a master's degree from Lourdes University in Toledo.
Robin and her husband raised two children in southeast Michigan — and have failed miserably at training their Beagle-Bassets.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan’s new anti-poverty effort: $7,500 for Flint moms, no strings attached
The state is experimenting with guaranteed income, investing $16.5M in a program launched by a foundation. Studies say such programs can lift people out of poverty, but others question state expense.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Cancer drug shortage may be waning in Michigan. Is it too late for some?
A Lansing woman with a history of breast cancer said she had to forego one of her cancer drugs in May. Two months later, she is trying to look ahead after learning of tumors returning to her body.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Help wanted: Report ranks Michigan health care jobs with the most need
A new Michigan Healthcare Workforce Index examined pay, expected growth, turnover, and necessary training to rank 36 health care job roles from the ‘healthiest’ — nurse practitioner — to the ‘unhealthiest’ — dental assistant.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
After battle, retreat for young people mulling suicide OK’d near Ann Arbor
After months of opposition from some neighbors, the parents of a young man who died by suicide won approval for a residential center on 75 wooded acres for struggling young adults. They say nature, and peer support, will help in the healing.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
New psychiatric unit in northern Michigan to address severe care gap
The 18-bed psychiatric unit in Cheboygan is scheduled to serve 22 northern Michigan counties this summer, where there is an acute shortage of mental health professionals.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan abortions for out-of-state patients jumped 66 percent last year
Doctors performed nearly 1,100 more abortions on patients from outside Michigan, as other states restricted the procedure. Even so, there was a drop in Michigan’s overall abortion rate, raising questions about whether all patients are being counted.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
More than 100K Michiganders may lose Medicaid by end of month
More than three years after the start of the pandemic, Medicaid recipients must once again prove eligibility to remain covered. More than 100,000 have yet to return paperwork for July, with millions more in potential peril over the months to come.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan health centers need medical staff. How one program is helping
A lack of medical and dental assistants in Michigan is limiting patient access to care. A $7.6 million training program offers a vision for how to help solve the state’s staffing woes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Air quality warning pushed to Friday in Michigan; doctors urge outdoor limits
Millions of Michiganders will remain under an air quality advisory through Friday as smoky skies from Canadian wildfires hang on.