State of Health

Joyanne Huston-Swanson, community relations for the Kent District Library, works with a wi-fi hotspot that is available for checkout at the library. Patrons have used the hotspots to access telehealth appointments, among other needs.

Telehealth expansion has made health care more accessible during the pandemic – but not for everyone

Michiganders who are older, live in rural areas, or have income challenges may have trouble navigating, accessing, or affording the technology they need to keep their telehealth appointments.

Second graders at Petoskey’s Central Elementary School practice mindfulness in 2019.
Meals and mindfulness: How Michigan schools are connecting nutrition and behavioral health

In northwest Michigan, educators, mental health professionals, and food service directors are teaming up to support the children they serve by connecting the dots between good nutrition and good mental health.

Healthy meals are prepared for the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency's Meals on Wheels program.
Traverse City-based program sends hospital patients home with healthy meals

The program also delivers healthy meals to patients via Meals on Wheels for 10 days and provides other resources to connect patients to fresh, nutritious food.

Terry Dangerfield, superintendent of Lincoln Park Public Schools, talks with Nicole Chubb, the district's executive director of special education. The district received funding from Michigan's Education Equity Fund.
CARES Act dollars support Michigan children’s mental health through state’s Education Equity Fund

328 Michigan public school districts and charter schools have received dollars from the new state fund to support students' mental health and bridge the digital divide.

A person uses the DayTwo Precision Nutrition app.
Saginaw health workers among first to try new tech that creates personalized diets for diabetics

Over the past year at Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, employees living with Type 2 diabetes have participated in a pilot program that develops personalized diets for them based on the unique population of microbes found in their digestive systems.

Maribeth Leonard in the crisis residential services unit at LifeWays Community Mental Health's new mental health crisis service center, funded by Jackson County's mental health millage.
Mental health millages meet crucial needs in four Michigan counties

When state budget cuts gutted community mental health budgets in 2014 and 2015, voters in Ottawa, Jackson, Hillsdale, and Washtenaw counties all approved millages that have significantly expanded mental health services.

Carolyn Wilson administers the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to Dr. Eric Kane at Beaumont Service Center in Southfield on Dec. 15, 2020.
Michigan health care professionals work to assuage skepticism as they roll out COVID-19 vaccines

Health care professionals across Michigan are doing their best to respond to Michiganders' concerns and deliver the vaccine to as many residents as possible.

Dr. Wassim Tarraf has carried out research on COVID-19's impact on people of color.
Michigan grapples with COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on people of color’s mental health

COVID-19 has taken a toll on mental health in Michigan and across the world, but new Wayne State University (WSU) research shows that burden has been heaviest for people of color.

Amy Heydlauff, CEO of 5 Healthy Towns Foundation, spearheaded a ReThink Health collaborative in western Washtenaw County.
Major health care players collaborate to rethink how they invest in Washtenaw County’s well-being

Four organizations are working to cooperatively leverage their combined skills, talents, networks, and financial resources to achieve optimal physical and mental health.

Mariah Martin.
Michigan makes strides towards implementing implicit bias training for all health care workers

The state is currently undertaking a major effort to address implicit bias in its health care sector, developing rules that require implicit bias training for all health care professionals licensed and registered in the state.

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