Michigan's State of Health

While Michigan's rural communities may not have faced the same heavy COVID-19 caseload as more densely populated urban areas, they've still struggled with unique challenges. Limited access to hospitals, limited transportation options, and lack of broadband internet have all affected rural Michiganders' ability to get the care they need. And all these challenges have been particularly acute for an often-overlooked segment of Michigan's rural population: migrant workers. While they're often invisible or looked down upon in the communities where they live and work, these migrant workers embody rural Michigan's experience with the pandemic.

On this week's episode we talked with Jesse Costilla, migrant program manager at Great Lakes Bay Health Centers (GLBHC); and Amanda Byler, migrant medical director and a nurse practitioner at GLBHC, about rural Michigan's health challenges and how they affect migrant workers. Join us as we discuss adapting during the pandemic to better address rural Michiganders' needs, and how we can strengthen health care for all residents of Michigan's rural communities in the long run.

Michigan's State of Health is a spinoff of the State of Health series of feature stories, which you can read at www.secondwavemedia.com, an Issue Media Group brand.

Michigan's State of Health is produced by Issue Media Group and made possible through the support of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

The isolation, uncertainty, and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a major toll on behavioral health. A survey conducted last June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 40% of Americans surveyed reported struggling with mental health or substance use. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was three times higher than in the same period in 2019, and the prevalence of depression symptoms was four times higher.

However, the increased prevalence of behavioral health issues has had an unexpected upside: more people are talking about behavioral health than ever before. That increased attention has led to an increase in behavioral health care services during the pandemic. But there's still major unfulfilled demand for behavioral health care in Michigan. On this week's episode we talked with Kevin Fischer, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Michigan, about how COVID has helped raise awareness of the importance of behavioral health, the new solutions that have been introduced as a result, and how to support Michiganders through the long-term behavioral health issues COVID is likely to create.

Michigan's State of Health is a spinoff of the State of Health series of feature stories, which you can read at www.secondwavemedia.com, an Issue Media Group brand.

Michigan's State of Health is produced by Issue Media Group and made possible through the support of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on food insecurity and food systems. According to an estimate by Northwestern University, the pandemic more than doubled food insecurity in America, affecting nearly a quarter of all U.S. households last year. Here in Michigan, one and a quarter million people have received expanded emergency food assistance benefits during the pandemic. The pandemic opened many Michiganders' eyes to food supply chain issues they'd never considered before. And while the darkest days of COVID-prompted food insecurity may be behind us, major gaps in Michigan's food system remain.

On this week's episode, we sat down with Meghan McDermott, director of programs at Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, to discuss how we can draw from COVID's lessons to continue strengthening Michigan's food system in the long run. Meghan has helped spearhead multiple programs to address food insecurity in Northwest Michigan during the pandemic. We talked about the massive challenges COVID created for Northwest Michigan residents and farmers, and how we all can help to build a stronger, healthier food system in Michigan.

Michigan's State of Health is a spinoff of the State of Health series of feature stories, which you can read at www.secondwavemedia.com, an Issue Media Group brand.

Michigan's State of Health is produced by Issue Media Group and made possible through the support of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially frightening for older adults. The risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 increases with age for people over 50 years old, and people aged 85 and older are the most likely to to get very sick. COVID-19 has also exacerbated social isolation, which was already elevated among older adults long before the pandemic arrived. However, the pandemic has also shone a spotlight on the challenges older adults and their caregivers face, and as a result it's prompted the creation of many new programs to improve care for older adults.

On this week's episode, we sat down with Dr. Kathy Dollard and Meghan Dahl of MidMichigan Health to discuss Bridge to Belonging, a program that they created – and then adapted during the pandemic – to help combat social isolation among older adults. Join us as we discuss how the pandemic raised awareness of isolation and other issues older adults face, the transformative effects Bridge to Belonging has had on program participants, and how to continue supporting older adults beyond the pandemic.

Michigan's State of Health is a spinoff of the State of Health series of feature stories, which you can read at www.secondwavemedia.com, an Issue Media Group brand.

Michigan's State of Health is produced by Issue Media Group and made possible through the support of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

Black residents have represented 21% of Michigan's COVID-19 deaths, despite making up 14% of the state's overall population. And sadly, disparate health outcomes are nothing new for Michiganders of color. However, COVID has helped to raise awareness of bigger-picture health inequities and the importance of addressing them – not only at the level of large institutions, including governments and health care providers, but also at an individual level.

On this week's episode, we sat down with Jametta Lilly, CEO of the Detroit Parent Network and member of the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, to discuss how COVID-19 has affected perception of health equity and inequity in Michigan. Join us as we discuss the roots of Michigan's health inequities, how COVID has prompted new efforts to address them, and the next steps toward creating an equitable health system for all Michiganders.

Michigan's State of Health is a spinoff of the State of Health series of feature stories, which you can read at www.secondwavemedia.com, an Issue Media Group brand.

Michigan's State of Health is produced by Issue Media Group and made possible through the support of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

It goes without saying that COVID has taken a terrible toll here in Michigan, as it has around the world. But the crisis has also helped to reveal major, longstanding gaps in Michigan's health care system – and in some cases, it's catalyzed positive action to address those gaps.

Over the first six episodes of our podcast, we'll be sitting down with Michigan health leaders to discuss the myriad ways that COVID has exposed our health system's flaws and resulted in positive change. To begin this journey, we sat down with Dr. Renee Canady, CEO of the Michigan Public Health Institute, to take a big-picture look at COVID's impact on our health system. Join us as we discuss how COVID has shifted our perceptions, how it's reconnected us as neighbors, and how we can continue to act upon its lessons.

Michigan's State of Health is a spinoff of the State of Health series of feature stories, which you can read at www.secondwavemedia.com, an Issue Media Group brand.

Michigan's State of Health is produced by Issue Media Group and made possible through the support of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.