As Michigan’s treatment options grow, a new mapping site plots out where to find help.
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 Government
How despair over Gaza war helped Donald Trump win Dearborn. It’s complicated
What started as a protest movement leads Michigan’s largest Arab-American enclave to give its vote to a Republican who once said Israel should ‘finish the job’ in Gaza.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan sounds alarm as syphilis spikes among women, infants
The venereal disease has increased more in recent years among women, including those who are pregnant. Six babies with congenital syphilis last year died.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Stressed about the election? Blame human instincts. Here are tips to cope
The election cycle can be emotionally draining, but there are steps people can take to protect their mental health, including limiting news consumption and putting an end to doom-scrolling.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan needs doctors more than ever. More medical schools haven’t helped
Universities have aggressively expanded medical schools with the hope that could curb a looming doctor shortage. Instead, the shortage worsened as newly licensed doctors left Michigan.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Primary-care doctor shortages cut deep in Michigan's underserved areas
More than 1 in 4 Michiganders live in an area with a shortage of health providers. Primary care is among the worst hit.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
$1M grant gives Michigan foster kids rides to school as they switch homes
Foster youth face countless disruptions and fractured relationships, as they move from home to home. A new state grant helps them maintain connections and classroom continuity.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Free COVID tests return in time for Michigan’s respiratory disease season
The nation’s health department has distributed 900 million free at-home COVID tests since winter 2021. It restarted the program Thursday.
Posted inMichigan Government
Crime fact check: Violence fell in ‘23, but still high in many Michigan cities
FBI crime stats released this week show violent crime fell in many Michigan cities but still remains higher than 2020. Different data sets, though, allow Trump, Harris to make their case to suit their views.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan repurposes COVID testing sites to reduce health disparities
The state is spending $17 million to expand 22 sites into wellness centers to provide preventive care in an effort to curb racial disparities in health outcomes.