With hundreds of senior centers largely closed during the pandemic, virtual bingo has its limits. Some seniors indicate they’d rather chance contracting the virus than face an uncertain future filled with loneliness.
Michigan Health Watch
In-depth reporting on the intersection between public policy and important health topics ‒ such as insurance coverage, hospital admissions, opioid abuse, access to care, medical research and the business of health care ‒ that impact nearly every Michigan resident.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Staff at Michigan nursing homes ravaged by COVID-19 set to strike
Saying they are underpaid and unprotected, union members of SEIU Healthcare Michigan say they’re ready to walk. State nursing home advocate says pay has increased; COVID made staffing and PPE a struggle.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan’s ‘tampon tax’ challenged in new lawsuit
The litigation is part of a national movement toward exempting menstrual products from states’ sales taxes.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Coronavirus surges among Michigan teens as school nears. Blame partying
With school openings approaching, infections are increasing among those 19 and younger in Michigan, which experts attribute to the hubris of youth and lack of social distancing.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan declares racism a health crisis. Without funding, it’s symbolic.
In Michigan and elsewhere, Black residents have lower life expectancies and face a host of health inequities. An order from Gov. Whitmer declares racism a health threat, but officials say funding and follow-through is key to make a difference.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
$5 million in federal grants not a lot to solve Michigan’s rural opioid crisis
One mental health official says the funds “won’t go very far at all,” as the state’s opioid overdose rates start to climb once again after the coronavirus outbreak hit Michigan in the spring.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Defund police or reform? What a city in Oregon can teach Michigan
In Eugene, thousands of 911 police calls involving the mentally ill are routed to a mobile crisis team that’s been on the road more than 30 years. That gives police more time and focus to handle violent crime for which they are better trained.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan families fight to see seniors amid COVID-19, even in hospice care
Despite new guidelines intended to give nursing homes and other facilities more discretion to allow visitors during a pandemic, families say some centers remain rigid, hurting the residents they are trying to protect.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
What do you want? she asked her hubby in MI nursing home. ‘You,’ he said.
Isolation is sapping the life of residents in nursing homes and other facilities amid no-visitation policies during COVID-19. As restrictions grind on, Bridge tells the stories of six residents, who are fading a bit day by lonely day.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Poll: 3 in 10 in Michigan reluctant to take a free COVID-19 vaccine
The rush to develop a vaccine quickly is the very reason many COVID vaccine skeptics say they don’t trust it. If not enough people take an approved vaccine, it would be difficult to achieve herd immunity to protect residents from the virus.