Michigan Department of Community Health

One out of every four senior citizens contract multi-drug resistant infections, or superbugs, after a hospital stay.  In this week's "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair speaks with Dr. Lona Mody, Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, on ways to resist these powerful bugs.

There is new legislation in Lansing aimed at preventing teen suicides.  Jake Neher has more.

Gov. Snyder wants dental care program for low-income kids expanded statewide

Gov. Rick Snyder says one of his budget priorities in his second term would be to expand a program that helps low-income kids get dental care.

Right now, the Healthy Kids Dental program is available to more than 500,000 children in 80 of Michigan's 83 counties. But the program is not available in three of the state's largest counties - Wayne, Oakland, and Kent.

Health director calls for reluctant parents to get vaccine counseling

Michigan's top health official says parents who want to opt out of vaccinating their children should first have to be counseled about the risks.

Michigan has one of the highest rates of parents who opt out of vaccinating their childen for preventable diseases such as mumps and measles.

Michigan's top health official resigns after suffering mild stroke

The state's top health official is stepping down to focus on his personal health. Michigan Department of Community Health Director Jim Haveman says he suffered a mild stroke in May.

Haveman served as director of the Michigan Department of Community Health twice - once during Gov. John Engler's second term, and then Gov. Rick Snyder named him the head of MDCH again in 2012.

State could become more transparent about infection rates at hospitals

The state's top health official says Michigan could be more transparent about how many people get infections while at hospitals.

A recent MLive.com series suggests the state has withheld that information from the public. That includes infection rates at specific hospitals.
    
Jim Haveman, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), says that information is becoming more important for many patients.

Medicaid expansion sign-ups hit one-year target in just four months

In less than four months, Michigan has already hit its 2014 enrollment goal for the state's expanded Medicaid program.

More than 322,000 low-income Michiganders now have government sponsored healthcare through the Healthy Michigan program.

Officials with the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) say the dramatic jump in enrollment will help boost the state's economy.

Background checks coming for home-aid workers, state can't exclude all felons

Michigan cannot ban all felons from being caregivers in the state's Medicaid in-home care program. That's according to state officials who outlined an upcoming background check system on Monday.

People convicted of patient abuse or neglect, health care fraud, or drug-related crimes will be barred from working with in-home Medicaid patients. But state officials say federal law prevents them from excluding people based on crimes that are not related to in-home care.

Audit slams state for $160 million in improper payments for in-home care

Two state departments are under fire for mismanaging a program that provides in-home care for Medicaid patients.

A new audit shows the program has misspent at least $160 million since 2010.

The Michigan auditor general's report says the state also failed to make sure money was actually used to deliver services and that caregivers were qualified.

  An organization based in Ann Arbor will use $9.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help prevent tooth decay among Michigan's children.

The Altarum Institute will team up with Delta Dental, the University of Michigan school of Dentistry and the Michigan Department of Community Health to improve access to dental screenings and preventative care to the uninsured children of Michigan's working families. 

 It is peak season for the ticks that carry Lyme Disease. In this week's installment of Issues of the Environment, WEMU's David Fair talks with Erik Foster. Erick is Medical Entomologist with the Michigan Department of Community Health's communicable Disease Division. They discuss how to protect yourself from contracting Lyme Disease, what to look for if you suspect you've come in contact with an infected Tick, and how climate change may increase the areas where the ticks are found.