Doctors in the Upper Peninsula and other rural regions report long waits for psychiatric care; child specialists are even harder to find. Can student loan forgiveness for medical residents and telemedicine reduce the gap?
Mental health in Michigan
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan emergency rooms are jammed. Identifying mental illness can help.
Chronic users of hospital ERs often have mental health or substance abuse issues. Programs in five regions of the state help patients find treatment for underlying problems while easing the burden on emergency rooms.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Mentally ill suspects get help in Miami, jail in Michigan. Guess which works
Miami’s innovative program has slashed the number of mentally ill jail inmates in Miami, saving Dade County millions of dollars while providing hope to that region’s most vulnerable residents. Michigan officials are taking stock.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
In Miami, judges weigh treatment, not prison, for the mentally ill
A day in Miami-Dade Circuit Court shows the promise of a program that has reduced the region’s jail population and may serve as a model for Michigan.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
After surviving mental illness, he works to keep others like him out of jail
In Miami, peer specialist Justin Volpe taps into his own dark past to reach out to criminal suspects with serious mental illness. Michigan court and government officials are studying whether to adopt such a model.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Mounting debt threatens West Michigan Medicaid mental health agency
The state health department threatens closure of Lakeshore Regional Entity, which coordinates behavioral health care for 30,000 recipients in West Michigan. Lakeshore’s board chair threatens suit, says state is to blame.
Posted inChildren & Families
Suicides, often linked to opioids, spike in rural Michigan and among young
A new study finds links between two grim causes of death, but also poses some proven ways to reduce rates
Posted inGuest Commentary
Mental-health service and payment should remain in public hands
Families and clients have spoken over and over since Gov. Snyder proposed transferring Medicaid mental-health money to private HMOs. Is anyone listening?
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: 10 reasons to expand Medicaid in Michigan
EXPANSION RESULTS: Expanding Medicaid coverage in Michigan would mean 18,000 new jobs in Michigan, argues Mike Vizena. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) By Mike Vizena/Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards There are many reasons the Michigan Legislature should follow Gov. Rick Snyder’s lead on Medicaid expansion. Let me count the ways: 1. It […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Get the mentally ill out of prisons, jails
Michigan taxpayers could save millions of dollars every year, not suffer any hardship and do humanity a service. How? Simply by shifting treatment of the mentally ill from state prisons and local jails to a system of outpatient treatment and mental health courts. This shift also would reverse a past mistake of epic proportions. Over […]
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