Lawmakers eye expansion of program that pays student debt of medical professionals who practice in underserved areas, as the Michigan doctor shortage intensifies.
Rural Michigan
Posted inQuality of Life
Payday blues: Rural Michigan and the quick-cash debt hole
With interest rates that can top 400 percent a year, payday lenders sprout in small-town Michigan. Bipartisan legislation in Lansing would rein in lending practices, but there’s no guarantee it will get a hearing.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Suicide, depression on rise in rural Michigan, but psychiatrists are scarce
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?
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
More than a dozen hospitals in rural Michigan at ‘high risk’ of closing
A devastating trend shows few signs of slowing, which means longer waits for an ambulance, distant maternity care and a brutal cycle that may lead more residents (and medical workers) to abandon rural communities.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
In Alabama, one rural town reached for its wallet to keep its hospital open
Residents who depended on the hospital in tiny Haleyville agreed to pay hikes in sales and property taxes. Their sacrifice in tax-averse Alabama may portend what it will take to keep other rural medical facilities in business.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan’s UP is full of closed mines. Technology may give them new life
Upper Peninsula communities struggled when mines shuttered. Now, researchers are studying whether closed mines could be used to store energy, lowering cripplingly high energy costs.
Posted inMichigan Government
Whitmer’s road funding plan could pit Michigan cities against rural areas
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed making roads with the heaviest traffic a priority for more than $2 billion in new funding. That’s not going over well in rural Michigan.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
How a typo revived a Michigan fish feud over hungry Yoopers and science
A brouhaha over brook trout has bubbled up in Michigan, pitting older anglers against downstate ones and prompting questions about whether science or special interests sets policy.
Posted inChildren & Families
Where have all the babies gone? Michigan births lowest since 1944
In some counties, there are three funerals for every birth. That’s not a trend that bodes well for the state.
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