At Michigan Medicine, hospitalizations of young people, nearly all female, more than doubled. Possible links to the pandemic were also noted at Beaumont Health in metro Detroit and at a children’s hospital in Grand Rapids.
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
Feds won’t probe Michigan nursing home COVID policy, despite initial query
Democrats, Republicans accuse the other of playing politics after President Joe Biden’s administration declines to investigate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s rules.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Up to 400K COVID vaccines set to expire in Michigan. Few want them.
Just months ago, Michiganders clamored for vaccines, frustrated at waiting lists and line-cutters in a bid to secure precious shots. Now, health officials worry they will go to waste.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan flood waters, heat may have spiked Legionnaires’ disease
Health officials note an uptick in cases over two weeks, and are searching for a common source.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Latest effort to reform Michigan’s mental-health system finds critics
Two GOP lawmakers say their plans cut bureaucracy and save millions of dollars. Some worry, though, that any reform that shifts care to the private sector or distant agencies will compromise vulnerable patients.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Did COVID fuel drug overdoses? Michigan deaths surged last year.
Michigan’s increase in drug overdose deaths in 2020 wasn’t as high as the national average, but 2,743 people died across the state — a 16 percent rise over 2019.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
190K in Michigan live with Alzheimer’s. FDA taps brake on new drug.
One month after its controversial approval by the FDA, the drug Aduhelm will be limited to just some of the 6.2M Americans — 190K in Michigan — who live with Alzheimer’s disease.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Is the Michigan vaccine lottery working? Depends how you define success.
Since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a $5 million lottery pool for those getting the COVID-19 vaccine, she’s touted that 1 million have signed up for the lottery — but the state cannot say if it’s luring more people to the shots. Several local health officials say it hasn’t.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Hope or hype? Costly new Alzheimer’s drug creates controversy
Aduhelm is the first new drug to attack the most dreaded disease among older Americans. But its cost is exorbitant. Worse, it may not work. In the absence of an alternative, though, some say that might be okay.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
A child mental-health fix takes early action, more help. Here are 7 ideas.
More psychologists and social workers in schools. Early screening. Loan forgiveness for child psychiatrists serving rural areas. Fixing a strained system will take time. But COVID stimulus funds can speed up efforts across the Midwest.