To some, the likely end to nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections means losing a say over their own bodies. But others see an end to what they deem government-sanctioned crime. They all appeared to scarcely believe the enormity of the ruling.
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
Leaked Supreme Court draft would overturn Roe, upend Michigan abortion law
Politico published a leaked draft late Monday of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling by Justice Sam Alito that would overrule Roe v. Wade, finding that there is no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution. Such a decision would have a huge impact in Michigan.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Got COVID? Michigan has 66 one-stop shops that both test and treat
Once suffering a shortage of COVID-19 treatments, the state now has an abundance of them, as well as clinics and pharmacies to dispense them — critically, at the same time you are diagnosed.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
With insulin prices skyrocketing, Michigan may go DIY
Frustrated by unaffordable treatments for diabetes and other illnesses, Michigan lawmakers are talking to universities and others about getting the state back in the drug manufacturing business.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Detroit hospital stops admitting patients to control rare fungus outbreak
C. auris can live on healthy people without making them sick, but the drug-resistant fungus then can spread to more vulnerable patients who may develop deadly infections.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan’s Medicaid ballooned during COVID. It’s about to be pared back.
Three million Michiganders must prove they’re still eligible for the safety net insurance when the U.S. public health emergency ends as soon as mid-July. Advocates worry that hundreds of thousands in the state could lose health insurance.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
West Michigan program to mint up to 500 new nurses with $20K tuition help
The pandemic ground down nurses, sending some into early retirement or alternative careers. Can a new university-hospital partnership bring in up to 500 new students to enter the nursing field?
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Smokestacks and forgotten residents: Dearborn opens new health department
Children go to school surrounded by industrial plants and a large portion of the city, Arab Americans, struggle with health disparities and yet are not even recognized by the census. So Dearborn opened its own health department with a broader vision.
Posted inMichigan Government
With Roe in doubt, Gretchen Whitmer moves to protect abortion in Michigan
The governor will ask the Michigan Supreme Court Thursday to declare abortion protected under the state constitution and invalidate a 1931 law that make abortion a crime if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As 2nd COVID vaccine booster approved, should Michiganders get it?
COVID-19 vaccines and first boosters were long-awaited and strongly recommended. The fourth dose? It’s more complicated.