The first members of Generation X — the cohort of Michiganders born between 1965 and 1980 — turn 60 this year. Caregiving duties are here. Retirement is in sight. Here’s how to prepare.
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
Unlocking the secrets of Michigan’s ‘superagers,’ who defy golden years
At the University of Michigan, research is underway that asks if ‘superagers’ have special brains that keep them active and sharp well into their senior years. Or does a superager’s insistence on staying active protect their brain?
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
DOGE lays out $394M in Michigan health cuts. But what does it mean?
Local health providers and public health leaders were set on edge this week after a federal website listed $394 million in cuts to Michigan’s state health department.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Oakland County confirms first Michigan measles case this year
Health officials worry that the single case of highly contagious measles might spread after the infected person went out to eat in Rochester and twice sought emergency room treatment.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
‘Uncertainty’ for Michigan health officials amid Trump messaging blackout
The CDC, NIH and FDA — agencies that track disease and warn of health threats — have been ordered to suspend communications, at least until Saturday. Some worry about a continued blackout.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Trump reverses Biden-era drug pricing order. What it means for Michigan
A law driving down some Medicare drug prices remains on the books, but one expert says efforts toward a $2 drug list and coverage for obesity drugs are now uncertain.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
1 in 4 older Michiganders lack enough friends. That’s a health concern
Researchers at the University of Michigan sought to measure loneliness and isolation among Americans 50 and older. There’s good news amid the bad: Post-COVID, the rate of loneliness has receded.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Sick with norovirus? Do all of Michigan a favor: Stay home
Highly contagious noroviruses cause miserable symptoms, and infections have been on the uptick in recent weeks.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
'Wind phones' give those in grief a connection to lost loved ones in Michigan
Rituals can help us ride out acute grief and connect us to the deceased. For those in mourning, 10 locations in Michigan offer one of the most familiar rituals of all — a phone call.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan-based group reframes dementia: There's life after diagnosis
Words such as ‘dementia’ or ‘Alzheimer’s’ can conjure images of confusion and solitude. A growing group of people with dementia say there’s still a lot of living and laughter.