On top of continued isolation at many of Michigan’s nursing homes amid COVID, nearly 9,000 fewer workers now care for nursing home residents — raising concern about the well-being of those who live there.
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 hospitals at COVID-induced capacities, as moods turn angrier
For more than two months, healthcare leaders have warned of packed hospitals. Frazzled doctors, nurses and other staff are sometimes fending off angry patients, some with nowhere else to go.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Bomb threats, school closings tighten student stress after Oxford shootings
A school shooting, “uniquely horrific” on its own, has been layered on top of two years of uncertainty and anger for Michigan’s youth. No one should expect a “normal” school day any time soon, experts say.
Posted inTalent & Education
Rumors of impending danger, terror-filled moments in Oxford school shooting
Students said they were aware of ominous social media posts directed toward the school. Then, in an instant, they were texting parents from barricaded classrooms, before being rescued by deputies. “Don’t look to the right,” one class was told.
Posted inMichigan Government
Will COVID vaccines protect Michigan from the omicron variant?
The new variant out of South Africa presents plenty of questions. Is it worse than delta? Unclear. Should I travel? Depends where. Should I get a booster? Yes. We answer your biggest questions .
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
U.S. military medical teams to aid Michigan as COVID swamps hospitals
The U.S. Defense Department is sending teams to health systems in metro Detroit and Grand Rapids to help overwhelmed staff deal with a surge of COVID, other patients. Michigan now leads the nation in hospitalization and COVID case rates.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Poised for ‘Drinksgiving,’ Michigan bars fret COVID will dampen party
Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest money maker of the year for bars, as friends gather before the family events that follow. Bar and restaurant managers say they don’t know what to expect Wednesday as state virus cases spike.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As COVID rises, CDC approves boosters for all adults, Michigan urges masks
Federal health authorities Friday approved boosters to be made available for millions more U.S. adults. While in Lansing, the state health department pleaded for residents to wear masks but stopped short of a mandate.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
COVID testing is critical in Michigan. But how soon is too soon?
Testing too early after you’ve been exposed to COVID, or “panic testing,” will likely offer little more than a false sense of security. With holidays beckoning, this “gray zone” in testing could unwittingly spread infection.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
University of Michigan flu outbreak prompts worries of statewide jump
Flu season ignites in southeast Michigan with more than 500 cases — enough to bring CDC staff on-site to monitor and assist, and resurrecting fears among health officials of a COVID and flu “twindemic” this winter.