School-based health centers allow students to access therapy, a medical checkup, or a dental appointment a short walk from their classrooms.
Mental health in Michigan
Posted inTalent & Education
Advocates press Michigan for $25M to open 100 school health centers
The pandemic exacerbated a slow-burning mental health crisis in Michigan’s schools. Whitmer wants to open 40 centers to help. Advocates say that’s not enough.
Posted inTalent & Education
Is federal COVID cash enough to solve Michigan school mental health crisis?
An unprecedented $6 billion in federal COVID relief money has come to Michigan to help schools, with mental-health support one of its pillars. It’s a lot of money, but young students will need a lot of help.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Sides drawn on plan to privatize Michigan mental-health system
Some argue the state should shift responsibility of managing care and costs to Michigan’s for-profit insurers; others say money motives of insurance companies would cut into care for the most vulnerable.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan doctors found a huge spike in eating disorders during COVID
At Michigan Medicine, hospitalizations of young people, nearly all female, more than doubled. Possible links to the pandemic were also noted at Beaumont Health in metro Detroit and at a children’s hospital in Grand Rapids.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Latest effort to reform Michigan’s mental-health system finds critics
Two GOP lawmakers say their plans cut bureaucracy and save millions of dollars. Some worry, though, that any reform that shifts care to the private sector or distant agencies will compromise vulnerable patients.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan teens' anxiety increased during COVID. Resources to help did not.
Experts already recognize that treating severe mental illness among young people is a problem in the state. But kids showing signs of pandemic-related isolation, depression and other conditions also struggle to find help.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
A child mental-health fix takes early action, more help. Here are 7 ideas.
More psychologists and social workers in schools. Early screening. Loan forgiveness for child psychiatrists serving rural areas. Fixing a strained system will take time. But COVID stimulus funds can speed up efforts across the Midwest.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Emergency rooms confront ‘tidal wave of sadness’ among young patients
Hospital ERs are being upended by a surge of children and adolescents in mental distress during COVID. Staff bring in snacks or queue up Netflix to keep them occupied as they seek beds in psychiatric centers. Private insurance can make the task harder.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Mental health crisis: Children at breaking point during COVID
Across the Midwest, there are not nearly enough psychiatrists, therapists or direct-care staff to treat a rising tide of young people spiraling into crisis. For these families, the strain can seem unbearable.