Cards, drinking, shared meals and sleeping quarters — deer camp traditions could send hunters home with COVID-19 as well as a prized buck, say health officials.
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
Upper Peninsula man nearly killed by COVID. He still doubts the data.
After nine days in the hospital, Dwaine Taylor — COVID case #290 in Delta County — said he no longer believes the coronavirus is a hoax. But he remains skeptical of the cases elsewhere, underscoring an awkward truth: COVID is complex, and so are people and politics.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan hospitals turn to $15 minimum wage to fill job openings
Two of the state’s largest health care systems bumped minimum wages to $15 an hour amid competition for entry-level workers. Nursing home employees in 14 southeast Michigan nursing homes also are on their way to pay increases.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As Mackinac Island empties for winter, COVID arrives for a stay
Tourists flooded onto the iconic Michigan landmark during the second half of the summer. Somehow, the island escaped large COVID-19 outbreaks. That has now changed.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan Christian school shut over COVID, files ‘religious liberty’ suit
Libertas Christian School in Hudsonville says health rules infringe on its religious liberties and free speech. Health officials say two teachers tested positive for COVID-19 and the school won’t cooperate with contact tracers.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Months after COVID, 1 in 4 Michiganders studied have yet to recover
In a study of people who suffered severe to minimal symptoms, there were significant levels of fatigue, shortness of breath and stress. Researchers at the University of Michigan will continue to examine the ongoing toll in the state.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Another casualty of COVID: testing for lead poisoning in Michigan
In old paint, water pipes and the ground, lead can leave a child with a lifetime of learning problems and mental health issues. But during the pandemic, the number of children being tested for poisoning has been cut in half.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Coronavirus hits new high in Michigan. Is it a ‘blip’ or ‘surge’?
As cases surge to levels unseen in months, the virus is spreading fast in corners of Michigan that had been mostly spared. Experts blame ‘pandemic fatigue’ but the good news is deaths remain relatively low.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
‘Open up everything!’ Michigan GOP’s push for herd immunity on COVID
A Michigan infectious disease doctor says we’ve overdone coronavirus lockdown rules, an argument embraced by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. The medical establishment calls such views dangerous.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Health experts to Shirkey: COVID herd immunity would kill 30K in Michigan
Five public health leaders have sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey rebuking his comments about “herd immunity” and asking for a hearing focused on the science of the virus.