The 18-bed psychiatric unit in Cheboygan is scheduled to serve 22 northern Michigan counties this summer, where there is an acute shortage of mental health professionals.
Mental health in Michigan
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
As child mental health rates rise, Michigan sharply cuts residential beds
The state wants to limit the number of seriously ill children placed in institutional settings. But it’s getting pushback from some parents whose children are too volatile to stay at home and need longer-term residential care that’s in short supply.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
A new Michigan legislative committee on mental health gives parents hope
Michigan’s thread-bare mental health system fails children in crisis. Can a new committee filled with lawmakers who have experience in healthcare or first-hand knowledge of mental health challenges bring focus?
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Dexter schools sue social media giants, citing child mental health crisis
Dexter is one of a number of districts joining a federal suit against the developers of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, YouTube and others, contending their ‘addictive’ algorithms target vulnerable children and teens.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan youth in mental health crisis: Could more screening help?
Advocates endorse national panel guidelines to screen children aged 8 to 18 for anxiety disorders.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
‘Staggering’ rise in overdoses, suicides for African Americans in Michigan
The rate of opioid overdose deaths doubled among Black residents over a recent five-year period. Suicide rates jumped 88 percent. Advocates say isolation, treatment disparities and the ubiquity of fentanyl in street drugs are behind the increases.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan sees spike in 988 mental health calls. But what happens next?
Michigan’s new three-digit hotline has produced a jump in calls by people in mental health distress since it began last summer. But advocates say the next step – continued treatment for those callers – is fraught with delays because of a shortage of trained professionals.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Michigan schools race to increase safety through high tech, mental health
Michigan superintendents are trying to balance physical technology to secure schools, with building stronger mental health supports for students. They say school safety continues to be something they want to improve.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan takes steps to boost bed capacity for kids in mental health crisis
Michigan has lost hundreds of mental health treatment beds for kids in the juvenile justice and foster care systems due to staff shortages. Officials hope to boost staffing by offering steadier funding to residential treatment centers.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan psychiatric centers cut number of beds despite having more money
Michigan has taken scores of in-patient beds offline since April because it can’t hire enough staff to care for patients. State-run facilities treat the most severely ill patients, making the job draining and at times perilous.
