Michigan has taken scores of in-patient beds offline since April because it can’t hire enough staff to care for patients. State-run facilities treat the most severely ill patients, making the job draining and at times perilous.
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
Michigan may regulate sale of kratom, an herbal mix linked to overdoses
The herbal supplement lauded by some as a safe pain reliever and pick-me-up has been linked to overdose deaths and other ills.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Three months into monkeypox, a pleasant surprise in Michigan
The spread of monkeypox cases has slowed dramatically in Michigan. Health experts say — tentatively — that a ‘win’ is within reach.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan COVID super-dodgers: Lucky genetics or just plain lucky?
COVID’s tendency to hopscotch through communities — killing some and leaving others unscathed — has baffled scientists and likely left some Michiganders feeling invincible. Researchers search for clues.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan bill intended to shorten ER waits for youth in mental health crisis
In House testimony Thursday, backers argued that the bill, which applies to all patients in crisis, will likely most help children and teens, who sometimes waited in ERs for weeks during the pandemic to get the mental health care they needed.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Sewer poop: it’s not just for COVID testing anymore
Federal funds helped Michigan create wastewater surveillance teams to test human waste and anticipate COVID outbreaks. Researchers are now expanding testing to other diseases, from monkeypox to polio.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Gretchen Whitmer wants more Michigan pharmacists to prescribe birth control
With abortion access threatened, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is taking steps to ensure easier access to reproductive health. That includes making it easier for Michigan pharmacists to directly prescribe birth control.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan COVID booster appointments filling up. How to get yours.
The possibility of a fall COVID surge and concerns about a “nasty” flu season might be fueling an early eagerness among some residents for the omicron-tailored COVID booster, experts said.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Should you get a flu shot and COVID booster at the same time?
After two years of quiet, the flu is expected to make a comeback this season. The Biden administration suggests people get a flu shot at the same time as the new COVID booster. Michigan health experts weigh in on timing the flu shot.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
After abortion, sex education may be Michigan’s next cultural battleground
Michigan doesn’t require sex ed, so what is taught — and what isn’t — can vary sharply by local school district. Advocates say uncertainty around abortion access in Michigan makes comprehensive sex education more important than ever.