New state data and reports from county medical examiners show a rise in opioid-related overdoses and deaths in parts of Michigan, which was likely fueled by the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic.
Robin Erb
Robin Erb covers health care and aging for Bridge Michigan, focusing on a state that is aging faster than most. She has led investigations tracking opioid settlement money and health care worker shortages, and previously spent six years at the Detroit Free Press covering the Affordable Care Act and Michigan's Medicaid expansion. She holds a master's degree from Lourdes University in Toledo.
Robin and her husband raised two children in southeast Michigan — and have failed miserably at training their Beagle-Bassets.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan COVID-19 labs are again seeing delays as more people are tested
COVID-19 tests were once reserved for very sick or at-risk groups. Now people across the state are now getting tested. But the volume is slowing results and straining test supplies, making it harder to track the virus’ spread.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
What COVID-19 test is best? Who pays in Michigan? What you need to know.
Testing criteria has changed. So have the options. But which test is most reliable? Bridge has sorted out answers to some frequently asked questions.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
A Michigan guide to wearing masks, or not, during coronavirus
Do masks work? Do disability or medical privacy laws allow me to enter a store without one? Michigan researchers, doctors and a lawyer weigh in on the much-debated mask mandate.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Violence erupts in Michigan over state mask mandate ‘powder keg’
Tensions are boiling over as confrontations increase over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s mask rule designed to contain COVID-19 becomes “the number one anxiety-producing pain point for retailers right now.”
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Across Michigan, coronavirus contact tracers face lies, anger and silence
Disheartened by images of raucous crowds ignoring safety measures, some health officials wonder if contact tracing — long a trusted tactic in controlling infectious diseases — may be losing its usefulness.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan’s newest headache: Young adults are driving coronavirus growth
Industries that serve the vulnerable see risky behaviors among young workers, but say they’re limited on what they can do.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Computer pad can help Michigan seniors use telehealth during coronavirus
Metro Detroit seniors are embracing online doctor visits using a customized tablet that makes technology less intimidating. It could prove a model for seniors increasingly dependent on telehealth to visit doctors.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan study: Hydroxychloroquine saved lives among coronavirus patients
The drug’s effects had been called into question after a series of studies and controversies since it was promoted by President Trump. A study at Henry Ford Health System found lower death rates when the drug is given early.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Large jump in Michigan deaths outside hospitals as coronavirus raged
Fear of contracting the virus at hospitals appears to have kept many patients from seeking care, including a large number of people suffering strokes or heart attacks.