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5 days ago | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
Senior centers may be more important than ever as Michigan confronts an aging crisis Many centers are forced to cobble together funding to survive because of the state’s hodgepodge of local millages That builds wide inequities in the system — from country club-like centers that stand on their own to those fitted into old buildings or tucked into parks and rec departmentsROCHESTER — Entering the sprawling OPC Social & Activity Center is an exercise in choice: Pickleball or pottery?
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1 week ago | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
In just over three decades, Medicaid has more than doubled its coverage in Michigan — now paying for more than 2 in 5 newborns and 2 in 3 nursing home residents Advocates say cuts will shred Michigan’s safety net for the state’s most vulnerable But where some see ‘cuts,’ others see a need for ‘efficiencies’ in the billions of tax dollars each year that pay for the growing program MAPLE CITY— Medicaid in Michigan can be measured by lots of big numbers — from the nearly 2.7 residents it covered...
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3 weeks ago | 
bridgedetroit.com | Robin Erb |Lauren Abdel-Razzaq
The state of Michigan has a senior-care crisis that is worsening by the day. The state spends billions of dollars a year for a “dysfunctional assembly of programs where frustration, failure, and poor outcomes are far too common,” according to a 2022 report by the Michigan Elder Justice InitiativeMichigan spends $4.4 billion in state and federal funds for seniors, providing everything from home-delivered meals to round-the-clock nursing care.
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1 month ago | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
Superagers are people, usually 80 and older, whose thinking and memory are as sharp as those who are decades youngerMichigan is growing older, faster than most other statesSuperagers do more than inspire.
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2 months ago | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
Oakland County reported Michigan’s first confirmed measles case of 2025 FridayThe adult returned from overseas travel Feb.
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Jan 28, 2025 | 
bridgedetroit.com | Robin Erb |Lauren Abdel-Razzaq
The temporary blackout on public communications from the nation’s top health organizations has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Michigan’s 45 health departments, network of hospitals and research universities but so far has not disrupted operations, officials tell Bridge. That’s afterDorothy A. Fink, acting secretary of the US Health and Human Services issued a memo Tuesday halting any public communications by HHS agencies.
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Jan 27, 2025 | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
The nation’s agencies responsible for tracking disease, food-borne illnesses, and other public health threats, are under orders to suspend all communications A memo noted that the order extends to Saturday, and it makes exceptions for ‘critical’ threats Already, at least one weekly report — in a series that dates to the 1930s — appears to have been stopped just before release The temporary blackout on public communications from the nation’s top health organizations has cast a shadow of...
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Jan 21, 2025 | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
On his first day in office, President Trump reversed his predecessor’s executive order that the US find ways to reduce drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients Michiganders aren’t likely to see an immediate change in out-of -pocket costs But what happens long-term — to coverage for obesity drugs, for example — is less clear Michiganders aren’t likely to pay more at the pharmacy counter any time soon, despite President Donald Trump’s reversal Monday of his predecessor’s executive order...
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
bridgedetroit.com | Robin Erb |Christine Ferretti
Michigan is reporting a high number of norovirus casesThe pathogen isn’t usually deadly, but it’s highly contagious, causing gastrointestinal miseryHand sanitizer doesn’t work well. Wash hands — thoroughlyNorovirus continues to threaten Michiganders in the new year — with case counts among the highest in five years and no indication that they might fall soon. The highly contagious stomach bug isn’t easy to kill. Hand sanitizer is a poor weapon against it.
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Jan 6, 2025 | 
bridgemi.com | Robin Erb
Michigan is reporting a high number of norovirus casesThe pathogen isn’t usually deadly, but it’s highly contagious, causing gastrointestinal miseryHand sanitizer doesn’t work well. Wash hands — thoroughlyNorovirus continues to threaten Michiganders in the new year — with case counts among the highest in five years and no indication that they might fall soon. The highly contagious stomach bug isn’t easy to kill. Hand sanitizer is a poor weapon against it. It lingers on surfaces for days.
