Left, Rachel Baxter, a registered nurse with Emmanuel Hospice, focuses her attention on the needs of patient June Winstanley. Working in hospice care, Baxter treats every patient like they’re her only one – making the most of every precious moment. (Couresty, Emmanuel Hospice)
A “typical day” in the life of a hospice nurse?
Well, that’s a tough one. Because arguably, it doesn’t exist.
Just ask Rachel Baxter, a registered nurse with Emmanuel Hospice, who is greeted every workday by a schedule that is anything but typical.
What every day does guarantee, however, is that as an ambassador for hospice, she will be challenged to provide top-notch care and treat every patient like they’re her only one.
“You learn to expect the unexpected,” says Baxter, a healthcare provider the better part of a decade. “Often, I make a plan first thing in the morning that looks great on paper, but with a single text or phone call, everything can change, which requires me to be flexible.
“It’s what you do when you’re trying to make every moment count for every patient to whom you’re providing care.”
Serving as a hospice nurse demands you remain nimble during the workday, looking for opportunities to tap into an array of services a hospice care provider like Emmanuel offers. When caring for patients, Emmanuel Hospice draws on a holistic approach that focuses on mind, body and spirit.
“I rely on a very talented team of providers,” Baxter says, taking her cues from other Emmanuel Hospice practitioners and therapists who specialize in areas from pain management to playing music to providing medical massages.
“We differentiate ourselves in that way,” she says. “It’s what sets us apart, and makes us especially capable of helping our clients along on their journey.”
The interdisciplinary team is all about collaboration and communication, sharing resources, skills and expertise to deliver care with compassion and ensure all needs are met.
“I put my absolute trust in judgment and knowledge of my co-workers,” she says. “We all see different things, and it’s vital we share that information because it’s in the best interest of the patient and that patient’s family.”
Working in hospice care, Rachel Baxter treats every patient like they’re her only one – making the most of every precious moment. (Couresty, Emmanuel Hospice)
This extends in varied ways especially when serving a patient in the privacy of their home, which can contrast markedly from treating someone in a facility.
“When you’re in someone’s home, it can begin to feel like your own,” Baxter says. “You might be there often with a spouse or other members of the family. You begin to see rhythms and patterns, and you adapt and adjust to those. You become acutely aware of the sights, sounds and other elements important to your patient.”
Baxter might see three patients in a workday or as many as six or seven. While she might serve anyone within Emmanuel Hospice’s service area, she primarily sees patients near the lakeshore before returning to her own home in Zeeland. She appreciates the flexibility of her schedule, which allows her to enjoy her surroundings and read or crochet during breaks.
While the care she provides can change from patient to patient, there is always one constant: “I’m focusing on every precious moment my patient has left. I want to be calm and confident, warm and reassuring. How do you feel? What can I do? How do you want to live?
“Living life to the fullest – no matter the time left – is what we’re all about.”
The Omicron variant has a different, milder, biological makeup. It tends to cause mild disease and when an acute illness happens, Omicron is much less likely to land patients in the hospital. (Pexels.com)
If you’re familiar with the term COVID, you may have also heard of “Long COVID.”
Long COVID is another way of referring to Post-COVID Conditions. The CDC states that “Post-COVID Conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people experience after being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19”. Symptoms can include brain fog, headaches, cough, and joint pain. Although most cases are all different and there is no true set of symptoms. The CDC also states that there is no test to determine if the symptoms presented are caused by COVID-19.
Recent findings show that people who catch Omicron are less likely to get Long Covid. Since the spread of Omicron, which began in late 2021, COVID-19 deaths became a rarity and the Omicron variant carries a lower threat of lingering complications.
John Willan, a hematologist who works at the University of Oxford and Wexham Park Hospital, reported that Long COVID symptoms after three months of infection were down to 14% with Omicron. To put in perspective, the original coronavirus strain was a 46% risk of Long COVID complications and symptoms.
This decreasing trend was found across both healthy people and vulnerable populations. A study from the Lancet found the risk of Long COVID in cancer patients fell from 17% in 2021 to a mere 6% once cases shifted to the Omicron variant.
So what is different with Omicron?
The Omicron variant has a different, milder, biological makeup. It tends to cause mild disease and when an acute illness happens, Omicron is much less likely to land patients in the hospital. Just being in the hospital with COVID-19 is a major risk factor for Long COVID.
Omicron also does not seem to be spreading to vital organs like previous strains were. Without the spread, someone who is infected may not produce acute illness symptoms and is now less likely to end up with Long COVID as well. There is also evidence from Yale Medicine to support that vaccination provides a protective barrier against Long Covid.
To learn more about the Omicron virus and stay up to date with COVID-related news visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html .
As of February 2023, the Biden Administration, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have plans to end the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 by May of 2023.
This will impact Kent County and its residents and the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) is continuing to learn more about the extent of these new measures but this is what is known so far:
How is COVID viewed now?
Even though the Public Health Emergency is being lifted, that does not mean that COVID-19 is no longer a health risk to you or your family. But, COVID-19 is not dramatically impacting the lives of millions each day as were reported in the months of 2020 and 2021. This is due to most of the population having some form of protection from the virus either from vaccinations or prior infections giving immunity.
Home COVID tests may no longer be covered under insurance. (WKTV/Maggie Carey)
Preventative measures such as at-home COVID-19 tests may no longer be covered by insurance. Under the Public Health Emergency, insurance companies were required to reimburse up to eight at-home tests per month for residents. Once the Public Health Emergency ends, insurers will be able to choose if they will reimburse those costs or not. For those on Medicaid, at-home tests and PCR tests ordered by a physician, will remain free until September 2024.
It is not recommended that individuals stock up on multiple tests due to the short shelf life of at-home tests. Rather the recommendation is to pick up one or two tests before the month of May.
What happens if you test positive for COVID?
As of March 9, 2023, if you have a confirmed positive test for COVID-19 is it recommended that you isolate yourself and stay home to rest, stay away from others, and recover. According to the CDC, Isolation should last for at least five days and then another test is recommended and if it comes back negative you may end isolation and if positive continue to isolate until a negative test is produced.
It is recommended that if you test positive for COVID, you should quranrinte for five days. (Pxhere.com)
Access to vaccines and treatments like Paxlovid will still be available but may no longer be free. COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will still be available at no out-of-pocket cost for those with private insurance as long as they receive those entities from an in-network provider. Medicare and Medicaid will continue to provide vaccine coverage.
Paxlovid, an oral treatment by Pfizer for COVID-19, will continue to be available and covered for people who have private health insurance. Paxlovid will be available for those on Medicaid until supplies last and there may be a change in out-of-pocket costs.
Telemedicine care
If an individual utilizes telemedicine (virtual visits with a doctor or healthcare provider) and receives written prescriptions via telemedicine appointments, those services will no longer be available after May 11, 2023. Individuals will be required to make in-person appointments for prescriptions after May 11, 2023.
For those on Medicare, recipients will still have access to extended telehealth services until the end of 2024.
How the pandemic has impacted health systems in Grand Rapids
A report from Grand Valley State University found that close to 40% of individuals delayed care in the United States during the pandemic. Erkmen Aslim, an assistant professor of economics for the Seidman College of Business and co-author of the report states that “delaying care not only increases morbidity and mortality risk associated with treatable and preventable disease, but it can also contribute to excess deaths directly or indirectly related to the pandemic.”
This report also found an unusual increase in outpatient visits to Grand Rapids hospitals while other regions had a decrease in outpatient visits during the pandemic. Daniel Montanera, another co-author of Health Check and assistant professor of economics at Seidman, theorized that Grand Rapids became a magnet for people from the Detroit area who couldn’t or wouldn’t visit hospitals that were grappling with spikes in COVID-19.
The Public Health Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has created change for our American healthcare systems and even though it is coming to an end, new information and updates related to COVID-19 will be available for residents through the Kent County Health Department for the foreseeable future.
Additional information and updates related to COVID-19 will also be readily available through the CDC’s COVID information website.
By Emily Armstrong Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan
Oral health is an integral component of overall wellness. Yet access to dental services can be a serious barrier for older adults to maintain their oral health. Each year the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan (AAAWM) partners with Grand Rapids Community College to host Senior Dental Day; an event that helps older adults in Kent County engage their oral health and find a new dental provider.
Last year, the event served 18 individuals, providing dental cleanings, x-rays, and exams conducted by GRCC dental program students. To qualify, seniors must be over 60 years of age and have not been to the dentist within the last 12 months. Held at Cook Academic Hall at GRCC’s downtown campus, the event will take place this year on Monday, March 20.
“We’re so thrilled to again offer the Senior Dental Day initiative. This is an event we look forward to each year and the partnership with Grand Rapids Community College gives us the chance to connect with high-risk seniors and connect them with services to support their health and independence,” shared Brandon Beck, Contract Administrator with the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan.
Locally, AAAWM supports oral health in a variety of ways. In Kent County, the Kent County Senior Millage (KCSM) network provides low-cost dental services to Kent County residents 60 years or older in partnership with Cherry Health and Exalta Health. AAAWM is also a member of the Kent County Oral Health Coalition, a group focused on advocacy and outreach in the West Michigan.
If you have any questions about this year’s event, you can reach out to Brandon at BrandonB@aaawm.org. If you’re an older adult in Kent County seeking dental services, you can contact the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan at 616-456-5664 to be connected to resources.
A combination of medical care and complementary therapies can be used to provide physical comfort in hospice. (Courtesy, Emmanuel Hospice)
Sometimes, it’s what the patient shares by simply speaking. But a hospice practitioner can also make inroads by what patients express with a turn of the hand, the way they’re sitting, a look on their face.
“In treating the body, we’re listening in a lot of different ways,” says Joan Blessings, a licensed massage therapist at Emmanuel Hospice based in Grand Rapids. “Sometimes, you can feel patients relax and, in that way, they’re communicating. And ultimately, that helps us help them live their best lives.”
Blessings has been a massage therapist some two decades, nearly half of those years in a hospice setting.
“At first, I really didn’t know if I wanted to do this,” she says, “because our patients pass away. But what I find joy in is giving them comfort. It can be a simple foot or hand massage, but that can create a huge difference for them.
“We believe our patients are more than just their diagnosis. So, we’ll make available all kinds of complementary therapies aimed at treating them in a truly holistic way.”
It’s remarkable, she continues, the way in which the body responds to music, to scents, to time with a pet – and of course, her specialty – massage.
At times, that can mean a light touch to someone experiencing generalized pain. In other cases, it might call for zeroing in on anything from facial muscles to the entire spine. The benefits can manifest themselves in increased mobility, reduced inflammation and more.
It takes time and practice to focus on the physical needs of each patient.
“Every patient is different,” she says. “When I go in for the first time, I am seeking to meet their expectations, and working hard to understand what those are.”
While she focuses on massage, she’s also paying attention to how else that patient might benefit from others on the care team. During the massage, they might talk about craving a spiritual connection. Perhaps they want to visit the beach or a flower garden. Another might want to sing or listen to hymns.
Blessings makes detailed notes of those desires into a digital logbook that everyone else attending to that patient can discover and then act on. A variety of complementary programs can be used alongside pharmaceutical approaches to provide physical comfort and support other health needs.
“We are so team-oriented,” Blessings says. “And everything we do is integrated on behalf of the patient, so they get everything they need from everyone with whom I work. It’s a very important part of their care program, and when a situation changes, we’re all aware of it.”
The rewards are many: “I served a woman the other day who said to me, ‘I’m 94-years-old, and I have never had a massage.’ I was able to smile and tell her, ‘Well, after I walk out that door, you won’t be able to say that anymore.’”
Nathan Hannum (standing) with his donor, Kyle Hess. (Courtesy, Trinity Health)
Some years ago, Nathan Hannum received the diagnosis that he had IgA nephropathy, also sometimes called Berger’s disease, that occurs when an antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) builds up in the kidney resulting in inflammation that can hamper the kidneys’ ability to filter waste from your blood.
It was a slow decline of kidney function, taking about 18 years for Hannum to drop to about 80% function and then in 2020, the decline started to take a steep dive, with him losing about 20% of functionality.
“So it was a pretty steep deal, but at the end of the year I was in a better position than a lot of other patients in that even though my function had gone down so far, I didn’t have to have dialysis,” he said.
When Hannum and his family moved to Grand Rapids about 15 years ago, he discovered there was only one renal kidney doctor’s office in Grand Rapids at that time, which was associated with the Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center.
“I had been told I would probably want to get it done there just because it’s close to home,” Hannum said. “There are other options. We could have gone to the University of Michigan or Detroit or Chicago, but the ability to have the facility close to home was a big part of the decision.”
Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center marks its 50th anniversary this year. (Courtesy, Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center)
Marking a golden anniversary
The Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center in Grand Rapids marks its 50th anniversary this year. There are six such centers in the state of Michigan with Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center (formerly theMercy Health Saint Mary’s Kidney Transplant Center) being the only adult kidney transplant center on the west side of the state.
Since its opening in 1973, more than 2,800 kidney transplants have occurred, improving the lives not only of the patients but of their loved ones and caregivers.
“Our team takes great pride in reaching this 50-year milestone,” said Jill McNamara, MSN RN, Transplant services liaison for the Kidney Transplant Center. “One of the ways we are celebrating is to reflect on the patient stories that show our team just how many people have been touched by their care.”
Hannum admits he was one of those patients who benefitted from that expert care.
“You know sometimes you go in for procedures and they just start working on it and don’t really tell you what is going on. They might ask you what your name is to make sure they’re working on the right person,” Hannum said. “(The Trinity) nurses were fantastic at explaining ahead of time what was going to happen and why they were poking me for this and why they were asking me about that and the doctors were the same way.”
Hannum’s story
Hannum’s process started a couple of years before his surgery with doctors encouraging him to start compiling a list of potential donors. Having been a pastor for the past 25 years, Hannum, who is currently serving at Jenison Christian Church, has a network of contacts.
Left, Nathan Hannum with his donor, Kyle Hess. (Courtesy, Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center)
In 2022, the Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center became the only adult transplant center in Michigan to partner with the National Kidney Register (NKR), the largest paired donation program in the world. The NKR has the largest living donor pool, making the likelihood of finding a match potentially faster than other paired programs.
“I sent a big ask to my friends and family and said if you are still interested, here’s the number to call and I was fortunate that a lot of them did,” Hannum said. “There were at least two matches and I think there were probably more than that for me.”
Once a donor was found, the next step was a series of tests, blood and others, to assure there were no underlying issues. It was through those tests, Hannum learned he had prostate cancer. While appreciative that it was discovered, especially since Hannum had no cancer symptoms, the diagnosis was a setback for Hannum, but only a couple months.
Finally cleared for the transplant surgery, Hannum said the next biggest hurdle was scheduling. The surgery took place in December of 2021.
Utilizing technological innovations
Robotic live donor nephrectomy has created even more opportunities for live kidney donation. (Courtesy, Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center)
For patients like Hannum, Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center offer one of the latest technological innovations, robotic live donor nephrectomy. This process has created even more opportunities for live kidney donation. A live kidney donation is when a kidney is removed from one healthy patient and donated to a patient who has renal/kidney failure. Previously, these nephrectomies were performed laparoscopically, using small incisions, with the surgeon using his hands during the procedure.
“With a robotic procedure, we still make incisions into the abdomen, but instead of using two hands, a surgeon has four robotic arms available at one time to also control the instruments and camera,” said Joel Stracke, DO, surgical director of the Kidney Transplant Center. “The nice thing about this approach is that we are able to make the large incision needed to remove the kidney much lower on the patient’s abdomen – under the pant line.”
The robot not only offers remarkable precision during surgery, but studies have shown that following a robotic donor nephrectomy, patients experience less pain and less need for narcotics.
Feeling like your 15 years younger
Every person responds differently to their transplant, Hannum said, adding that in his case, aftercare was mostly routine.
“The moment I woke up from my surgery, I felt better and my wife even told me even before I said anything. She said ‘Your eyes are brighter, and your skin color is different and it’s just amazing,’” he said. “ I can’t describe what it was like to be out of the ‘kidney fog’ just when you wake up.”
While there have been bumps along the way, a year later, Hannum said he feels 100% better, adding that he has felt 15 years younger this past year, “which is pretty fantastic.”
“Our main priority is to provide our patients with individualized, compassionate and expert care,” McNamara said. “Over the last 50 years, our program has become one of the largest and most successful community hospital-based transplant programs in the country. As we look forward to the next 50 years and beyond, we will continue to focus on our patients and their families, offering advanced surgical techniques and innovative donor options that offer more hope to our patients.”
The Trinity Health Kidney Transplant Center currently has six surgeons and five nephrologists. In 2022, it completed 102 transplant surgeries: 37 living donor recipients and 65 deceased donor recipients. There are approximately 300 patients at the center currently on the waiting list, 155 which were added last year.
By Brandon Beck Contract Administrator Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan
When a person retires, they may lose their dental insurance making it difficult to keep up on oral health care. (Pxhere.com)
Oral Health is an integral component of overall health. Diseases of the mouth are closely linked to other serious health conditions in the body. Yet access to dental services can be a serious barrier for older adults to maintain their oral health. Dental coverage is a benefit often linked to an employer, so coverage can change significantly after retiring. Advocacy at the national, state, and local levels are working to reform oral health and increase access for older adults.
Locally, the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan (AAAWM) supports oral health in a variety of ways. In Kent county, the Kent County Senior Millage (KCSM) network provides low-cost dental services to Kent County residents 60 years or older in partnership with Cherry Health and Exalta Health. AAAWM is also a member of the Kent County Oral Health Coalition, a group focused on advocacy and outreach in the West Michigan. Each year, AAAWM partners with Grand Rapids Community College to host Senior Dental Day; an event that helps older adults engage their oral health and find a new dental provider. For more information on Senior Dental Day 2023, taking place on March 20, email brandonb@aaawm.org
Within the rest of the AAAWM region, made up of nine counties: Allegan, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo, and Osceola the recently created Oral Health Plan applies. At the state level, Michigan has created the 2025 Michigan State Oral Health Plan that consists of three goals to improve the oral health of Michigan residents. Each goal is supported by implementation strategies and activities for healthcare providers and advocates to utilize. The three goals are as follows:
Michiganders understand the value of daily oral health care and preventative dental care and have the tools to care for their mouth every day.
Michigan citizens, dental professionals, and medical providers understand the connection between oral health and overall health.
Michiganders have access to preventative and restorative oral health care because the state has developed the necessary infrastructure to effectively serve everyone.
Nationally, the 2021 report Oral Health in America by The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) calls for a policy that mandates dental coverage in Medicare, stating it would reduce health inequities by assuring older adults have access to preventative and other oral health services. Most individuals lose their employee provided dental insurance after retirement, putting their oral health at risk. Additionally, adults are living longer than ever before, increasing their risk for chronic health conditions. Accessing dental services can be especially challenging for older adults who are disabled, homebound, or cognitively impaired as services cannot be provided in the home.
There is much work to be done in oral healthcare reform, and there are numerous ways you can show your support and advocate for these important issues. For more information about local efforts, visit the Kent County Oral Health Coalition’s website or follow them on Facebook. For more information about oral health advocacy in our region, contact AAAWM Advocacy Coordinator Sherri Harris at sherrih@aaawm.org
Fentanyl testing strips are used “off label” to detect dangerous fentanyl in street drugs. (Courtesy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
LANSING – New dollars distributed to groups fighting substance abuse can be used to purchase strips that test whether drug dealers cut heroin or other street drugs with often-deadly fentanyl.
The simple paper strips are illegal in some 20 states.
But fentanyl test strips, along with sterile needles and opioid overdose reversal medication called naloxone, are among a wide range of “harm reduction” tactics the Department of Health and Human Services supports. The department recently announced it was distributing the first funds from national lawsuits settled in 2021 against prescription opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and three distributors.
“We are actually saving lives with these supplies,” said Lauren Hodson, a harm reduction analyst for the department who, until recently, worked in prevention services with the Detroit Recovery Project. “We get that direct feedback from people using the substances.”
Often mixed with other street drugs
Fentanyl is a cheap, synthetic opioid often found in street drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine and fake prescription pills. It’s also manufactured legally as a painkiller.
Its potency has driven a dramatic rise in overdose deaths across the nation and in Michigan.
According to Health and Human Services, the state had 3,096 overdose deaths in 2021, up from 2,738 in 2020.
Deaths have grown tenfold since 2000, and each year outpace deaths from car crashes, the department notes.
Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more than morphine, according to the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reports it as a major contributor to both fatal and nonfatal overdoses.
Reversing course on testing strips
Fentanyl testing strips initially were used to test urine for illicit drugs. They cost about $1 per strip.
For several years, they’ve been used “off label” to test street drugs, using a tiny amount of the drug mixed with water before dipping in the strip.
A June 2022 report from Legislative Analysis Public Policy Association, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that drafts model state laws on substance use, found that using fentanyl strips is legal in 25 states, including Michigan, but illegal under laws in other states prohibiting drug paraphernalia.
Since that 2022 report was released, more states – Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, according to news reports – legalized the strips and still more are debating legalization.
Some opponents argue that the testing strips promote drug use, but many states are reversing course as fentanyl-related overdoses rise.
Michigan never outlawed the testing strips though it has a law dating back to 1978 that criminalizes drug paraphernalia. The law applies only to those selling drugs, according to the association’s study.
Settlement used for ‘syringe service programs’
The opioid settlement will total nearly $800 million to the state and local governments over 18 years as part of a $26 billion national settlement. As part of the first $39 million received by the state, Health and Human Services said it’s distributing $3.9 million to 34 nonprofits and health departments operating “syringe service programs” offering clean needles and other supplies to those using street drugs.
Those groups have grown from five in 2018 to 34 today, according to Lynn Sutfin, a department public information officer. Many have distributed fentanyl testing strips using private donations because they weren’t allowed to buy syringes, testing strips and other supplies with federal drug prevention dollars until the Biden administration approved it in 2021.
Sutfin said the state’s approach to addiction is supportive and promotes “change at your own pace.”
“Get some of these individuals in the door, and maybe they are ready at some point to take that next step,” she said.
The movement in Grand Rapids
Steve Alsum, the executive director of the Red Project in Grand Rapids, said his syringe services group serves six counties: Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, Newaygo, Lake and Allegan. It offers naloxone in three more counties: Mason, Oceana and Montcalm.
From October to December 2022, the group served 3,300 individuals and distributed 4,800 fentanyl testing strips.
“First and foremost, fentanyl testing strips are a tool that enables people to have a greater degree of knowledge of what they’re putting in their body. People can then use that to make decisions to reduce the risk,” he said.
He supports the use of fentanyl testing strips but said they aren’t perfect.
For example, they can’t identify all forms of fentanyl. Because fentanyl has grown so pervasive in heroin, most heroin samples test positive, he said.
The strips have been more useful in recent months to identify fentanyl contamination in cocaine and methamphetamine, he said.
What is happening up north
Kelly Rumpf, a health educator at the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department in the Upper Peninsula, said fentanyl strips, along with sterile needles, naloxone, sharps containers and alcohol wipes, are at the health department office in Kingsford.
The service, which helps 150 to 200 people a year, depends on word of mouth because local officials have shied away from promoting it, fearing public backlash, Rumpf said.
“People look at it like we’re enabling,” she said.
But it’s needed because the area has a high hepatitis C rate that can be spread by sharing needles, she said.
“It’s building momentum,” Rumpf said of the syringe services program.
What is happening at the state’s capital city
Julia Miller, the executive director of Punks with Lunch Lansing, said she views testing strips as one way to remind substance users to be careful and think about recovery. Her group feeds people who lack housing, provides warm clothing and staffs an office at a former church called the Fledge where syringe services are offered.
Fentanyl testing strips are a routine part of the outreach to about 35 people a week.
“It’s making more people aware of what they are using,” she said.
Miller added that getting a test that is positive for fentanyl doesn’t mean users throw those drugs out.
“Most of them tell me they make sure they use a little less of it or make sure they have someone with them,” who could administer overdose aid, she said.
Motor City joins the fight
Community Health Awareness Group in Detroit enrolls about 2,500 people in its syringe service program, said Barbara Locke, its director of prevention programs.
Fentanyl testing has been used for a few years, she said, and her group has worked on educating drug users on how to use the tests.
“Knowledge is power,” Locke said. “Fentanyl is so dangerous. We don’t want them to overdose. They don’t want to overdose. Nobody wants that.”
A rendering of the front of the new Southridge Behavioral Hospital which will be located near the corner of 64th Street and Byron Center Avenue. (Courtesy, Trinity Health)
The groundbreaking of new 96-bed freestanding inpatient behavioral health hosptial located near the corner of 64ht Street and Byron Center Avenue is scheduled for this summer as plans for the facility progress.
Southridge Behavioral Hospital is a joint venture partnership between University Health Services and Trinity Health. In June of 2022, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a Final Order granting Havenwyck Hospital Inc., a subsidiary of University Health Services, a certificate of need approval for 60 adult psychiatric beds, allowing University Health Services and Trinity Health Michigan to move forward with plans for the new facility.
“We are excited for the future opening of Southridge Behavioral Hospital, because we know there is an incredible need for inpatient services in our community,” said Matt Biersack, MD, president of Trinity Health Grand Rapids. “The acquisition of the land and design development are key milestones to making our vision a reality. We are excited to break ground this year, when we will really begin to see the hospital take shape.”
Southridge Behavioral Hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2025, will accommodate up to 96 beds, which includes the 60 adult beds plus 24 geriatric beds previously approved by MDHHS. The facility will be located at 2145 64th St. SW near Trinity Health Medical Center in Byron Center. The location is just south of the City of Wyoming and Byron Center boundary.
The design of the new hospital incorporates modern, innovative, evidence-based care elements that focus on patient safety. Programming will be tailored to individual patient needs, with core psychiatric services and counseling supplemented by enrichment activities such as art therapy, music therapy, pet therapy, and outdoor activity.
The facility will employ approximately 170 full-time and part-time staff including physicians, nurses, therapists, mental health technicians, administration, dietary, and housekeeping personal.
The Southridge Behavioral Hospital is designed to tie into the growing network of behavioral health services in the area, including UHS-operated Forest View Hospital and Trinity Health Michigan’s new partnership with Network 180 to open a Behavioral Health Crisis Center for the rapid availability of assessment services on a walk-in basis.
For more about the Southridge Behavioral Hospital, visit www.soutridgebh.com.
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma WKTV Managing Editor joanne@wktv.org
The Kent County Community Action’s 2023 Walk for Warmth will take place March 4. (Pxhere.com)
On average, households will pay 12.7 percent more for home heating this winter, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA), which means more people may struggle to pay their heating bills.
With that in mind, the Kent County Community Action will bring back its Walk for Warmth event, designed to raise awareness and funds for heating fuel assistance programs.
“All of the money raised from this event will go straight to people who need help in keeping their utilities on,” said Gustavo Perez, the director of the Kent County Community Action.
The Walk for Warmth is a statewide event with local communities usually hosting the walk in February. The Ottawa County Community Action Agency hosted its event at the beginning of February. The Kent County Walk for Warmth is set for March 4. Participants will meat at 8:30 a.m. at the Kent County Community Action (KCCA) offices, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. St., Suite 110. The walk starts at 9 a.m. and will travel the block around the KCCA offices, which is Martin Luther king Jr. Street to Sheldon Avenue to Sycamore Street to Jefferson Avenue.
According to a recent report from NEADA, the national rate of utility arrearages (the amount of money families are behind on their electric and gas bills) is at about $16.6 billion since the end of the last winter season. About 20.8 million households, that is about one out of six, owed an average of $791. This is up slightly from June 2022 when the total arrearage place stood at about $16.3 billion and the average amount owed was about $783.
Closer to home, Perez said he is still compiling the 2022 numbers however, in 2021, Kent County Community Action helped more than 4,000 houses with gas, electric and water.
The Kent County Community Action provides a number of programs to Kent County residents, one of which is the Utility Assistance Program. Residents do need to qualify for the assistance.
In the past, when people did no qualify, Walk for Warmth funds were used, however; due to the COVID pandemic, KCCA was not able to host the walk for the past two years with the Walk for Warmth fund currently unavailable to assist homeowners.
“What this allows is for raised funds to help close the gap for those who cannot keep the utilities on in their homes,” Perez said.
The goal for this year’s event is to assistant more than 20 households, which means the 2023 Walk for Warmth would need to raise around $10,000.
“We are working with people who are facing shut-off, so we are only helping them get caught up so they can keep the heat on,” Perez said. “We are not paying for a single home’s heat for a year, but only the amount to make sure the heat does not get turned off.”
As Michiganders struggle to deal with the aftermath of the Feb. 13 shootings at Michigan State University, many are juggling conflicting emotions: anger, fear, sadness, rage, grief, helplessness and others.
That’s all normal in light of the trauma we collectively witnessed Monday night, according to Dr. Caelan Soma, the chief clinical officer for Starr Commonwealth in Albion, Mich. Many watched the search in real time for the lone gunman who terrorized the East Lansing campus, killing three and sending five to the hospital before turning the gun on himself.
And many, Soma says, are struggling for answers days later.
Soma says the first step is validating the feeling that this was a very scary situation that elicited an acute stress response for many of us, whether we had a student or loved one on the MSU campus or a child on a campus across the country or we are Michiganders without a direct connection.
“You begin to relate to what those kids experienced last night and put yourself in their position,” Soma said. “Even if you are safe at home, understand the person is no longer a threat and logically know the danger has passed, you can take on a lot of those symptoms and reactions as well.”
Those stress hormones can continue to roil in our bodies for weeks, keeping us on a high state of alert with fear and worry. Soma notes the next step is to find things that make you feel safe – and that can have little to do with logic.
“Telling yourself that the police have the shooter, he can’t hurt anyone anymore, that everyone is safe and lockdown is over isn’t helpful,” Soma explained. “What you have to do is help your body return to a state of balance.”
That can differ person by person, but Soma says it often comes back to connecting with people – hearing the voice of a loved one, spending time with friends, being able to discuss what happened and how you are feeling and then hearing others are feeling the same way. Other body-based ways to help you feel comfort and safety might include cozying up to watch a movie, listening to music, baking cookies, going for a walk or anything that helps you get your body back in balance.
“Our stress response is intense anxiety, and telling people to chill out doesn’t help,” she says. “They need to feel their body is chilling out and experiencing a sense of safety. It doesn’t matter how old you are.”
Founded in 1913 as a home for runaway and homeless boys, Starr Commonwealth has grown and evolved over the decades to provide community-based programs, education and behavioral health services that create and promote universal hope, boundless love and limitless success for children. Starr recognizes that trauma is real – but it does not seal an individual’s fate.
For more information about Starr Commonwealth and its services, visit starr.org.
The recent cardiac arrest of the Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin during a Monday Night Football game coincides with the beginning of American Heart Month, and the annual February focus on cardiovascular health. Focus is needed for any health plan to be a success, but executing that plan poses a distinct challenge.
With many new research studies, medications, supplements and therapies available, formulating a health plan that most adults can maintain throughout the year can be confusing. Here are five tips that should be both sustainable and successful.
1. Diet and exercise
The familiar trope ― more exercise, healthier diet ― remains the best place to start. The benefits to your heart of a healthy diet and exercise can fill a library of books.
Adding exercise is an important tool for a healthy heart. (Pxhere.com)
The typical American diet is riddled with too many calories, excessive carbohydrates, and the wrong type of fats. An unhealthy diet can lead to numerous health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes and cancer, just to name a few. Billions of dollars are spent on these health problems caused by an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.
Without making changes, an unhealthy lifestyle can rob us from months and years of great life with our family and friends. Are those chips, dips and large sodas more valuable than another healthy year or two with your kids? Grandkids? Friends? Travel?
Let’s make 2023 the year we get off the couch, put down the remote control and cell phone, choose a small beverage (instead of the supersize) and get some exercise.
2. Drink more water
As we eat better and exercise more, another health problem comes into focus: chronic dehydration.
Drink plenty of water to make it easier for your heart to pump blood. (Pxhere.com)
Sixty percent of our body is water, so better hydration is beneficial to many bodily systems ― including circulation. Keeping the body hydrated helps the heart more easily pump blood through the blood vessels to the muscles. It helps the muscles work more efficiently, effectively reducing the heart stress on well-hydrated individuals.
A myriad of problems results from dehydration, including muscle cramps, fatigue, headaches, and immune system dysfunction, just to name a few. Take your water bottle to work or school, fill it several times a day, and enjoy the benefits of drinking water. The cost is almost nothing, while the benefits are enormous.
3. Remember your annual check-up
Annual check-ups are important. (Pxhere.com)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person health examinations and preventative studies were canceled. Now is the time to make sure you see your health care provider to get a thorough physical examination and recommended tests (blood work, x-rays, etc). These include screenings for diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases of the heart.
In addition to annual check-ups, don’t forget any important screening tests for your demographic group, such as a colonoscopy or mammogram. As the pandemic wanes, we are starting to see patients returning for evaluation. Unfortunately, we are detecting advanced health problems that were ignored during the pandemic. The treatment for these ignored problems will be more demanding, aggressive, expensive ― and possibly less successful.
See your healthcare provider soon to get a thorough physical exam, and recommended tests to prevent any avoidable health problems.
4. Quit smoking
Heart attacks are side affects from vaping and legalized recreational marijuana. (Pxhere.com)
The U.S. has done an amazing job to decrease cigarette smoking. The detrimental health effects of smoking are profound, well-documented, and affect every system in the body.
In the last few years, however, vaping and legalized recreational marijuana use have eroded our progress. Heart attacks are among the many side effects of smoking, which also include oral cancers, lung cancers, strokes and COPD (emphysema). Chemicals used in popular vape flavors like clove, mint and vanilla can harm blood vessel cells that help keep the heart healthy.
Make 2023 the year to not light up or vape.
5. Sleep
Getting seven to nine hours of sleet every night is another healthy step. (Pxhere.com)
One additional concern to mention: we all need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. This might mean turning off the TV, not surfing the internet as long, or putting down our video games.
Studies show short sleep duration or poor sleep quality is associated with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Habitual short sleep increases the chance of cardiovascular events.
Sleep also keeps us alert and attentive for the following day. Get a good night’s sleep, so the following day is yours to conquer!
Ronald G. Grifka, MD, FAAP, FACC, FSCAI is the Chief Medical Officer of University of Michigan Health-West, and Cardiologist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma WKTV Managing Editor joanne@wktv.org
A tragic situation lead local artist Kim Johnson to be a witness to the chaos world of the healthcare workers as they struggled to help those with COVID 19, which in turn has lead to an insightful and personal narrative of what Johnson saw.
“If My Paintings Were on These Walls” will premiere on Feb. 17 on WKTV’s Comcast Channel 25. (WKTV)
Friday, Feb. 17, WKTV will premiere Johnson’s short film “If My Paintings Were on this Wall” at 7 p.m. on Comcast Channel 25 or you can live stream it at WKTV.org. The film is a combination of watercolor paintings and an essay by Johnson with video clips, narrated by Grammy Award winner singer, actress and author Debby Boone.
“Having seen Kim’s artwork, I knew that she would do a beautiful job executing this project.” Boone said. “There is real emotion and humanity in these pictures that is quite beautiful and her essay really communicates the sacrifice [many] have been willing to provide for people during such a trying time with the pandemic and the overload in these hospitals.
“You know they are exhausted and their personal lives are maybe falling apart and yet, they still show up with love and compassion for the people they’re trying to serve.”
The story of Kim and Georgia Johnson
Covid 19 turned many people’s lives upside down and local artist Kim Johnson and her mother, Georgia thought that was going to be the case for them.
But a trip to the hospital lead to the discovery that Georgia did not have Covid like everyone thought, but rather metastasized breast cancer, which would take her life in 21 days.
During that time, Kim Johnson spent every waking hour at the hospital and when her mother was getting tested or sleeping, Johnson, with sketchpad in tow, would draw what see was seeing: the nurses looking so tired but kept going, health care workers being yelled and assaulted by frustrated and frightened patients; and those running from one hospital room to another to take care of patient needs.
“At the time, I was a pretty bitter person,” Johnson said. ”I disliked anyone in the healthcare field. I disliked [Georgia’s] doctor because I thought he could have caught it.
“I was pretty nasty and my attitude stunk in the time that she was there and a lot of times I left the room and took my sketchpad with me and God worked on my heart a little bit because one of the first things I saw, or rather heard, was there was a patient screaming. The F-bomb was flying right and left, and the next thing I know this nurse came out and she was balling…she crumbled to the floor in tears and someone came to console her.”
This would be the first of many sketches but after her mothers death, Johnson’s resentment toward anyone in the healthcare, caused her to pack up the drawings along with her art supplies. After selling the family home, she had no intention of having anything to do with art.
Finding compassion and gratitude
Six months later, Johnson began to have a change of heart, developing compassion for the healthcare workers. She rekindled her love for drawing and watercolor painting, and through most of her supplies were in storage, she was able to find a few supplies packed away including the sketchbook she had at the hospital.
One of the 38 paintings by Kim Johnson.
It is from that sketchbook she wrote her essay about her experiences and interactions within those 21 days and painted 38 4×6-inch paintings, all of which is included in the video.
Johnson has long followed and admired four daughters of legendary singer Pat Boone since 1977 when Debby Boone recored the song “You Light Up My Life.” She also was a fam of the 1979 Boone Family Easter Special. Through a meeting on the now defunct My Space, Johnson meet and became friends with Cherry Boone O’Neill, Debby Boone’s sister. It was through that friendship, which eventually migrated to Facebook, that she met Debby Boone, who upon hearing of the project agreed to narrate it.
“Honestly, I never thought that I would ever have the opportunity to meet Debby Boone, let alone work with her on a project I created,” Johnson said. “She narrated something I wrote. I still cannot believe that it is happening. I am beyond honored.”
There will be a private showing of the film at the WKTV Community Media Center in February. In March, there will be a public showing that will be followed by a brief appreciation recognition for healthcare workers in all capacities. The film also will be available on Kim Johnson’s YouTube channel at the end of March.
Eliminating noncompete agreements would allow nurses to be better advocate for patients, according to some in favor of the ban on noncompete agreements. (Pxhere.com)
LANSING – The Federal Trade Commission’s recent announcement that it is considering a ban on noncompete employment contracts will improve wages of health care workers, as well as care for patients, according to a policy expert for the nation’s largest nurses union.
FTC Chair Lina Khan said such contracts are bad for workers and prevent wages from raising. In a press release announcing the proposed ban, it was estimated that the change would increase wages by $300 billion a year.
Noncompete contracts are agreements between employees and employers that typically bar workers who resign from taking new jobs in the same industry in the same geographical area for a set period.
The proposed ban, which would bar employers from entering or continuing a noncompete contract, is now in a question and comment period which will last until March 20.
Giving employees more flexibility
Economic Policy Institute President Heidi Shierholz said noncompete contracts are typically used to keep workers from a source of power: quitting and taking another job.
Shierholz said because noncompete contracts prevent people from resigning to work elsewhere, they keep wages low and contribute to a mismatch in the labor market.
“Noncompetes keep people locked in jobs that aren’t necessarily the best job for them,” Shierholz said. “Our whole economy works better when there are good matches between jobs and workers.”
Shierholz, whose institute is a liberal-think tank in Washington, D.C., said about 45% of jobs that require a college degree use a noncompete contract.
According to Bloomberg Law, 45% of primary care physicians are bound by noncompete contracts.
Local case heading to court
Last week, it was announced that Trinity Health Michigan and four surgeons have filed in federal court seeking to have noncompete contracts with Orthopedic Associates of Michigan (OAM). According to the lawsuit, the four surgeons, who worked for OAM, are being prevented from working at Trinity Health Grand Rapids (formerly St. Mary’s) due to noncompete contacts.
As reported by MiBiz, Trinity and the surgeons are alleging that “monopolistic behavior by OAM, which will seriously disrupt care for patients needing orthopedic surgery in Kent County,” and cost Trinity Health Grand Rapids millions of dollars, according to court filings.
According to the lawsuit, OAM, through mergers with other orthopedic groups, has about 64 percent of the market share. It is estimated that Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) has about a 23 percent share with the rest held by private groups.
Noncompetes limit advocacy
The National Nurses Association, which is the nation’s largest registered nurses’ union, opposes noncompete contracts and similar agreements that prevent nurses from more easily leaving their jobs.
The Michigan Nurses Association, based in Okemos, is its state affiliate.
Brynne O’Neal, a regulatory policy specialist for the union, said noncompete contracts have consequences for patient care because nurses won’t be able to work locally for a period if they resign for any reason, including to protest unsafe patient conditions.
“Nurses are patient advocates,” O’Neal said. “That’s a very core part of their role.
“When employers hold nurses hostage as debtors, nurses can’t speak out about unsafe working conditions and can’t exercise the professional judgment required to provide safe and effective nursing care. Ultimately, patients suffer,” she said.
Other changes FTC is considering
In addition, the FTC is considering banning “training repayment agreement provisions” (TRAP) that require employees to repay their employers for training they underwent to work at the company unless they stay there for a set period of time.
O’Neal said TRAP contracts are a common way for employers to discourage employees from quitting, calling them “de facto noncompete clauses” because employees could incur major costs for leaving their job.
John Karasinski, the Michigan Health and Hospital Association senior director for communications, said the organization has no position about the possible ban on noncompete agreements but would like to see policy changes that bring more health care workers to the state.
The American Hospital Association declined comment on a possible ban, but pointed to a letter cosigned with other business groups which asked the FTC to extend the question and comment period to late April.
Shierholz said that if noncompetes are banned, workers who were subject to them will, over time, see their wages go up because they will more easily be able quit lower-paying positions and take ones with higher pay.
O’Neal, of the nurses’ union, said that a ban will allow nurses to more easily encourage safe patient conditions and keep their jobs.
Joanne Bailey-Boorsma contributed to this story.
Dan Netter is a journalist who started at Michigan State University in 2019. His interest in journalism includes policy reporting, identity reporting and a little bit of news design. Other places where Dan’s work has appeared include The State News and 101.9 WDET-FM. His favorite song is “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye.
Spiritual caregivers provide a caring listening ear for hospice patients and their loved ones as unique questions and experiences arise during life’s final journey, helping them find peace. Pictured are Spiritual Caregiver David Veldt with former patient Richard Murley. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Hospice)
There are a lot of ways to define and discuss the ways in which a hospice professional might nurture a patient’s spirit.
For the Rev. Madelyn Thompson, a spiritual caregiver at Emmanuel Hospice, it doesn’t lean much on credentials she might bring to the bedside. Instead, it relies on her ability to listen, learn and be actively present.
“One of my favorite spiritual influences,” says Thompson, “is Henri Nouwen, who said, ‘The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing…not healing, not curing…that is a friend who cares.’
“Generally speaking, being spiritual is being in a relationship – with yourself, with other people, with nature, with your pets, with creation,” Thompson says. “What I’ve discovered is that patients can be most distressed at life’s end with regrets or unforgiveness, wishing they’ve done something differently. I might not be able to fix things, but maybe I can help them be at peace with themselves. That’s nurturing the spirit.”
Although Thompson has an advanced degree and plenty of experience, she prefers to focus on how she’s still observing and absorbing.
“I don’t have a plan when I walk through a door,” she acknowledges. “I have to rely on something other-worldly, something other than myself.”
Over the course of some 20 years working in hospice care, Thompson has become increasingly aware of how the spirit is much more powerful than any words she might bring to a patient and their family.
She’s also been struck by how an awkward moment can be placated in the most beautiful and bittersweet ways. Many years ago, flustered at not being able to reconcile all the people in a room paying their final respects to a dying woman, a 5-year-old great-grandson burst in, flung himself on the patient’s bed and said, “I will love you forever, grandma,” then kissed her and disappeared.
“The whole countenance of the room started to change,” says Thompson, who believes that moment – and so many others she’s witnessed – was rendered by the divine.
She’s quick to admit how “that’s not always the lovely case,” but more times than not, if you’re patient, “some redemption can occur.”
Thompson has worked for other hospices, and emphasizes, “Every hospice shares some components, but you can tell which ones go above and beyond, who extend complementary therapies, who continue to offer a hand and an ear to loved ones even weeks and months after a loved one has passed.”
She says the best hospices attend to the whole person, including their spirituality. “And that involves listening to their life story, to their experiences, allowing them to guide us into how we can help them, rather than walking in and saying, ‘I know how to help you.’”
As an interfaith organization, Emmanuel Hospice meets the spiritual needs of all individuals, guiding patients and their loved ones in finding solace and strength through a peaceful life transition.
Over the years, Thompson says she’s discovered “we all express ourselves and our spirituality in different, creative ways.”
She notes the more she exposes herself to opportunities for more learning, the better she’ll be prepared to nurture that spiritual side.
“I like to assume we’re all interconnected and interested in one another’s stories,” she says. “I find solace in building on that base of love and understanding.”
The Kent County Health Department has rung in the New Year with a partnership with the Grand Rapids Red Project to provide free access to life-saving Narcan in a vending machine at its main clinic in Grand Rapids.
The Grand Rapids Red Project is a nonprofit that provides health resources to prevent the spread of disease and save lives. They have partnered with the Kent County Health Department and Cherry Health to provide Narcan vending machines in four locations around Kent County.
What is Narcan and how does it work?
Naloxone, sold and marketed under the brand name Narcan, is a life-saving medication that reverses or reduces the effects of opioids. When a drug overdose occurs, Narcan can be given to reverse the effects of decreased breathing and help the patient regain consciousness. For a more scientific explanation from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Narcan is an opioid receptor antagonist which means it binds to opioid receptors and reverses or blocks the effects of other opioids.
Why is Narcan needed?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 92,000 people in the United States died from a drug-involved overdose in 2020. The State of Michigan reported in 2018, there were 2,809 deaths from drug overdoses in Michigan alone.
In Kent County, Rachel Jantz from the Kent County Opioid Task Force, said there is an increased need for Narcan due to the synthetic opioid Fentanyl becoming more pervasive in the community.
The opioid epidemic is one of the largest public health crises in United States history and Narcan is an available resource to help mitigate drug overdose deaths.
How do you administer Narcan?
The vending machines available in Kent County are stocked with intranasal Narcan, a spray that can only be applied into the nose to produce its desired effect. The Nasal Spray contains only 1 dose of medicine and cannot be reused. The steps of Narcan administration are as follows and cited by the official Narcan website:
Narcan vending machine located at Kent County Health Department, 700 Fuller Ave NE (WKTV/Maggie Carey)
Step 1: Lay the person on their back and support their neck.
Step 2: Remove Narcan Nasal Spray from the box. Peel back the tab with the circle to open the Narcan Nasal Spray.
Step 3: Hold the Narcan Nasal Spray with your thumb on the bottom of the red plunger and your first and middle fingers on either side of the nozzle.
Step 4: Tilt the person’s head back and provide support under the neck with your hand. Gently insert the tip of the nozzle into one nostril until your fingers on either side of the nozzle are against the bottom of the person’s nose.
Step 5: Press the red plunger firmly to give the dose of Narcan Nasal Spray. Remove from the nostril after giving the dose.
Step 6: Call 911 for emergency medical help.
Where can Narcan be found?
Narcan is now available for free to residents of Kent County at four locations thanks to the Grand Rapids Red Project and its partnership with the Kent County Health Department and Cherry Health. These machines have 24-hour access and to use them, just type in the slot that has an available pack and the vending machine will distribute the pack cost-free.
KCHD is offering free radon test kits to residents while supplies last. (Courtesy, KCHD)
Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can silently seep up from the soil and enter a building, or home, through its foundation. You cannot smell or see radon and testing is the only way to know the level of exposure in homes or any building. The age of the home/building, type of foundation, and type of soil around the area can impact the level of radon exposure.
That is why in recognition of January being Radon Action Month, the Kent County Health Department, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Great Lakes and Energy, will be giving away free test kits (while supplies last) at the Health Department’s main clinic, 700 Fuller NE.
Radon has a large impact on indoor air quality and it is often referred to as a ‘silent killer.’ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.
“Every home has some level of radon so it’s not a matter of if its present, it’s a matter of what are the concentrations, what are the levels, and are they high enough that we should do something about it,” said Aaron Berndt, the indoor radon specialist for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, during a discussion about radon in the home. He added that homes that test at a level of four or above should begin the process of mitigation.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, along with the Kent County Health Department (KCHD), found that 1 out of 15 homes in Michigan have elevated levels of radon. The EPA and the United States Geological Survey developed a risk zone map and Kent County is labeled as a moderate to high-risk zone.
So how can it be detected?
Radon is simple to detect and fairly inexpensive to remove from properties through mitigation techniques. But due to radon’s ability to be undetectable by sight or smell, it is easily ignored by homeowners and therefore leads to a lack of testing even though it is recommended to test every two to three years. January is Radon Action Month and organizations have resources available for residents to help test for radon and mitigate radon exposure.
The free test kits will be available (while supplies last) at KCHD, 700 Fuller NE, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. One test kit per home is allowed for residents.
Courtesy, CDC
The test kits will include instructions for use, but, according to officials, are very user-friendly. Just hang the filter inside your home for a few days and mail it in a self-addressed, pre-stamped envelope for testing. If radon is found, residents will be informed and have the choice to contact the Health Department to begin the mitigation process.
For additional help or information on the at-home test kits or results, reach out to the KCHD Environmental Health Division at 616-632-6900. The EPA also offers a support line for help with radon questions or concerns at 1-800-55RADON (557-2366) *.
Communications Director, Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan
Raise your hand if you’re comfortable navigating a conversation about mental health. Now raise your hand if you’re not sure where to start.
At the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan, we believe it starts with knowledge, which creates confidence. We empower individuals through our be nice. action plan and programs for schools, businesses, teams and faith organizations.
“This plan works because it’s simple,” said Christy Buck, Founder of be nice. and Executive Director of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan. “It’s four steps that give you the knowledge to recognize depression, guide you through tough conversations, and empower you with the information and resources you need to start navigating appropriate treatment options. be nice. is simple, powerful and life-saving.”
be nice. program is two-fold
On a macro level, the logo itself is a call to kindness, civility and inclusion. It’s recognizing that how we treat one another has an effect on how a person thinks, acts and feels – their mental health. On a micro level, be nice. is an action plan to equip individuals with the knowledge to recognize, understand, accept and take action when it comes to mental health through four simple steps – to notice, invite, challenge and empower.
1. notice
Begin by noticing what’s good and right about the people around you so you can notice when something is different. The plan starts with the knowledge to recognize, or notice, the signs and symptoms of a mental health concern or illness.
Behavioral
Quitting favorite sport/hobby
Avoiding social interaction
Sudden/unlikely drug or alcohol use
Cry frequently for no reason
Neglect responsibilities, loss of motivation
Can’t sleep or sleep constantly
Physical
Lack of hygiene, personal appearance
Fatigue, lack of energy
Overeating or loss of appetite
Weight loss or gain
Headaches
Unexplained aches or pains
Psychological
Acting out, aggressive, quick to anger
Heightened sadness, guilt, indecisiveness
Lack of emotional responsiveness
Frequent self-criticism
Hopelessness, loneliness
Thoughts of death or suicide
2. invite
When you notice changes lasting two weeks or longer, it’s time to invite yourself to reach out. Many times we notice something is different about the way someone is thinking, acting or feeling, but we don’t address it. Oftentimes, we stay quiet because we don’t want to hurt a person’s feelings, get a negative reaction, or be wrong – with be nice., we keep it simple.
“I’ve noticed ________ and I’m worried about you. Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do to help?” This conversation starter shows that you care and you’re asking from a place of concern. You’re not attacking their actions or character, you’re simply checking in.
3. challenge
The No. 1 reason someone doesn’t speak up when they’re struggling is because of the stigma or shame they feel. They’re worried about how others will perceive them. You can be someone who challenges the stigma surrounding mental health, illness and treatment. You can challenge stigma with your words and empathy! The third step is also about challenging an individual to seek help and utilize resources. Here in West Michigan, we are fortunate to have many local options for help and treatment. We live in a digital age, and there’s a variety of mental health supports available for a wide range of needs.
Nationwide, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline [988] is available 24/7 for anyone struggling with their mental or emotional health who needs a listening ear, immediate coping exercises, or assistance navigating further help.
4. empower
Ultimately, the be nice. action plan is meant to empower individuals with knowledge and resources. The MHF is an organization that educates individuals of all ages and demographics in this life-saving action plan. Having the correct knowledge surrounding mental health gives us the confidence to take action when we notice changes and the empathy to decrease stigma.
Being aware of our protective factors and positive coping mechanisms are great ways to help keep our mental health in check, and further, knowing what resources are available in our schools, teams, workplaces and communities empowers us to be resilient.
988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline)
If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, call 988 to speak with a professional who can help.
To learn more about each step of the be nice. action plan, visit benice.org.
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma WKTV Managing Editor joanne@wktv.org
Santa riding into town at the 2019 Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce Santa Parade. (WKTV)
Santa is coming to town this Saturday for the Wyoming Kentwood Chamber of Commerce’s 16th Annual Santa Parade.
The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. starting near Division Avenue and 32nd Street and heads south, ending just before 44th Street.
“This is one of my favorite projects,“ said Bob O’Callaghan, former president of the Wyoming Kentwood Chamber and committee chair for this year’s Santa Parade. “Celebrating our businesses along Division Avenue is a great way to provide holiday cheer for the businesses and for the community. Our sponsors want to give back to the community and this is a perfect way to do that.“
This year’s sponsors are 105.3 HOT FM, 97 WLAV-FM, Arrowaste Inc., Brann’s Sizzling Steaks and Sports Grille, Car City, Catherine’s Health Services, Consumers Energy, Diversified Protection and Investigations, Godwin Hardware & Plumbing, Hobart Sales & Service, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Marge’s Donut Den, Rivertown Credit Union, Stassen Electric, Steelcase, Supermercado Mexico, VanDyke Mortgage, WKTV, Wyoming Moose Lodge, YoChef Catering & Cafe, and Honor Credit Union.
WKTV will also be on-hand as well to record the festivities with cable television re-broadcasts scheduled for Saturday at around 12:30 p.m. (immediately after basketball programming) and again at 7:30 p.m. Check wktv.org for other air times.
“To see the looks on the children’s faces is a wonderful experience which is why I have been on the planning committee for years with the Chamber,” said Mike Zomerlei of Diversified Protection and Investigation Services. “With more than 50 participants it takes a great deal of logistical planning and a lot of hours but it’s worth it!.”
This year’s parade will include marching bands from four local high schools, Wyoming, Godwin Heights, Kelloggsville, and Grand Rapids. There also will be several local officials such as Mayor Stephen Kepley as well as police officers and fire fighters from both the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming. The grand marshal is Jackie Green, former 2021 Mrs. American and co-host for 105.3 HOT FM.
Of course this is all in celebration of the arrival of the most famous elf in the world: Santa Claus.
WKTV featured community events appear on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. Community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team are available on-demand within a week at wktvlive.com.
When it comes to house repairs, don’t be afraid to ask a friend or family member to help. (Pxhere.com)
Fall is in full swing and with that comes cooler weather. As the seasons change, you are more inclined to stay indoors and pass on events you used to enjoy in the warmer months–it happens to the best of us. Yet this lack of socialization, movement, and engagement in the winter can have a negative impact on your health and well-being. Winter can be an especially difficult season for older adults. You may not have the means to drive or keep up with home maintenance and repairs, and you could start feeling a bit defeated during this time. Trying to combat these things can be overwhelming, but just because you aren’t able to get out as much doesn’t mean there aren’t a variety of things you can do to have a winter of wellness.
Here are just a few tips:
Take advantage of open enrollment. Now is a good time to review your healthcare needs. Medicare/Medicaid Open Enrollment is underway, and you can make changes to your plan through Dec. 7. The Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program can be a great support in navigating this, offering unbiased help at 1-800-803-7174.
Catch a ride. Several transportation resources are available specifically for older adults, and it is great to be able to take advantage of these in winter months when there is inclement weather. In Kent County, RideLink provides seniors 60+ with affordable rides throughout the county.
You can learn more about RideLink at https://www.aaawm.org/ridelink, or feel free to call 616-774-1288 to schedule a ride. If you are outside Kent County, the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan can connect you to other transportation resources in our nine-county region.
Move your body. An important aspect of aging well is prioritizing both your physical and emotional health. Many community options are available to meet individuals where they are, including the newly renamed Engaging Wellness. All Engaging Wellness programs are designed specifically for older adults, offering evidence-based classes that are safe and effective. Community partners within the nine-county network are dedicated to helping seniors stay active and independent, bringing a holistic, full-circle approach to aging with education on nutrition, diabetes prevention, and fitness classes.
Use your resources. It can be tough to keep up with the maintenance of your home in the winter. When this happens, don’t be afraid to ask for help. A family member or friend was probably always willing but perhaps unsure of what help you need. Or if this isn’t an option, through the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan, a number of home chores and repair services are available from yard cleanup, snow removal, lawn mowing, and minor home maintenance.
Connect to your community. Whether it is joining a senior center, a book club at your local library or volunteering for a cause that matters, being involved can help your mood immensely. You get a healthy dose of regular socialization with others, and when you join a group initiative, you are more likely to stick to it as other people can help keep you accountable.
So, what’s your next step? Reach out to us at the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan; it is a knowledge hub for services available to seniors. Often we will offer information on local senior centers to join, available exercise programming, and home and transportation resources to help you maintain your independence over the more challenging winter months and throughout the year. Visit www.aaawm.org/services or call 616-456-5664 to get started.
Emmanuel Hospice’s grief support services are open to anyone in the community on a grief journey regardless of whether they have a prior connection with the nonprofit organization or hospice care. (Emmanuel Hospice/Adobe Stock)
It can be hard handling the holidays – especially if you’re trying to process grief that accompanies the loss of a loved one.
But there are ways to make it through this season.
That’s not to say there’s a magic wand available to make your sadness vanish. But strategies and coping mechanisms do exist that can be put into place to make the holidays a little less stressful, even though you’re recovering from a loss.
“One of the first things to realize is that grief is a continuum,” says Ashley Huisman, bereavement coordinator for Emmanuel Hospice. “So, while one person might react very stoically and without a lot of tears, another might be extremely emotional.
“The important thing is not to judge; we don’t know what anyone is dealing with internally in that moment.”
Another thing to consider, says Huisman, is that not everyone processes grief according to the so-called five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, despair and acceptance.
“Grief isn’t a standard, cookie-cutter type of thing,” she says, noting it’s just as common to bounce between these stages or even skip one as it is to follow them in a linear way.
Huisman offers the following tips on how to cope with grief at the holidays:
Manage expectations. Just because you’ve always been relied upon to bake that fancy dessert, the grief you’re feeling might compel you to pass this year. Even at the risk of thinking you’re letting someone down, take care of yourself first. “Pick out the tasks or customs,” says Huisman, “that have the most meaning for you.”
Make time for yourself. “Take a nap,” says Huisman. “Listen to music. Try to be reflective. Or even try to not remember for a while what you’re dealing with. The important thing is to check in with yourself and be sure you’re getting what you need.”
Give to get. When grief overwhelms, make a conscious effort to support others. It can help you create perspective and focus on another’s needs. Says Huisman, “It’s giving your heart a break.”
Memorialize your loss. Create a special ornament that honors the person gone. Continue to hang a stocking in their name, and slip a note inside telling them the ways they’re missed. Light a candle. Write a poem. Buy a gift they would have loved and donate it in their name to a cause.
Reach out for help. Emmanuel Hospice, for example, offers workshops and support groups to help anyone in the community manage grief, regardless of whether they have a prior connection with the nonprofit organization or hospice care.
The nonprofit is offering free “Handling the Holidays” grief support sessions at various locations in the greater Grand Rapids area:
Monday, Dec. 5 from 1-2 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 14 from 2-3 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 19 from 10-11 a.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 21 from 10-11 a.m.
Those interested in joining are asked to contact Emmanuel Hospice if they plan to attend and get more information at 616-719-0919 or EHBereavement@emmanuelhospice.org. RSVPs are welcome up until the day of the event.
In addition to leading support groups, Emmanuel Hospice provides support through counseling, education and referrals to community resources to help individuals cope with all stages of grief before, during and even after the holidays. More information is available at EmmanuelHospice.org/grief-support.
Though it sounds simplistic, Huisman encourages people grieving through the holidays to “take them one day at a time. Try not to be anxious.
“Most of all,” she says, “look for things that will give you comfort. And let the rest be.”
Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope (Courtesy Aesculap, Inc.)
University of Michigan Health-West (UMH-W) recently announced that the medical facility have obtained an Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope to aid its neurosurgery team and further UM Health-West as an Innovative Healthcare Destination. University of Michigan Health-West serves the Grand Rapids metropolitan area with 18 outpatient centers and more than 500 physicians on staff.
Funding for this new microscope came from The University of Michigan Health-West Foundation. This foundation strives to make care more accessible, support professional development, improve patient experiences, and serve the people of West Michigan.
What is an Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope?
An Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope is a next generation, high resolution microscope that will be used in the operating room to assist doctors. It will aid with robotic-guided positioning of surgical tools, 3D imaging, and provide doctors with a microscopic view of the body during surgery. Another feature of this microscope is the fluorescence capabilities will help guide doctors by lighting up tumors, aneurysms, and tissues.
Aid for those in the operating room
The Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope will provide ergonomic relief in the operating room for doctors. Due to the positioning of the microscope, surgeons will no longer have to hunch over microscopes for hours on end while twisting their bodies in uncomfortable positions in order to reach the brain, spinal cord, and nerves of patients during surgery. Procedures can last from six to eight hours long and having technology to help relieve some of the physical pain for doctors is a great advancement for the hospital and patient outcomes.
Dr. Ronald Grifka, Chief Medical Officer, said that this microscope will be a huge support for the surgical team.
“In traditional microsurgery, the surgeon might have to keep their head tilted at a 60-degree angle for hours at a time,” Grifka said. “We know they can perform better for their patients – and have greater job satisfaction – if they are comfortable and relaxed when performing these intricate neurosurgeries.”
Another advantage of the Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope is its application in education. University of Michigan Health-West is a teaching hospital with eight residency programs. Residents now have the opportunity to view exactly what the surgeon sees and learn from them during surgeries.
Looking towards the future
The Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope has future applications in the world of microsurgeries.
“This is really the next generation of microsurgery,” Neurosurgeon Bryan Figueroa, MD said. “When we all can anticipate what needs to happen next, response time is faster, and we can stay perfectly in sync to optimize patient care.”
There is hope for its application in other surgeries in the future as well. Plastic surgery, ophthalmology (eye surgery), and even reconstructive surgery are areas where this kind of technology has potential.
If you are still interested in this new technology, you can view a video demonstration here!
LANSING – As warmer-than-average growing seasons caused by climate change become more common, they bring new invasive species to Michigan.
Tar spot is a fungus that attacks corn and causes production losses. Credit: Michigan State University
“Insects that like warm weather are finding that Michigan is becoming more and more life-sustaining than ever before,” said Bruno Basso, a professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
And that requires new ways to fight them.
“These invasive species to Michigan are resistant to pesticides that farmers previously relied upon,” Basso said. “So farmers are looking for new ways to improve the ecology of their crops and improve their resistance.”
Identifying the threats
Two new threats are “tar spots,” in corn, and spotted wing drosophila, said Laura Campbell, a senior conservation and regulatory relations specialist at the Michigan Farm Bureau.
Tar spots are raised black dots on the ears of corn caused by a fungus called “phyllachora maydis,” Campbell said. An outbreak in a corn field causes production losses and economic disaster for the farmers.
Spotted wing drosophila is an insect that attacks soft fruits, a big problem for Michigan’s cherry orchards, Campbell said.
The female insects lay eggs inside the fruit, causing brown, sunken spots. As the larva eats the fruit it becomes rotten and non-consumable.
Using technology in the fight
Farmers attack new insects with technology, Basso said. Drones can pinpoint where an insect or weed is on their farms. Then they spray the specific area before it worsens.
Another example of emerging technology is the advancement of Enviroweather, a Michigan State -based weather service that can help farmers anticipate threats to their crops, Campbell said. The site tracks invasion trends, warning farmers ahead of time if pests are headed their way.
“Preventative pesticide spraying is best, because it will deter the invasive insects and weeds from being able to attack the crops,” Campbell said. “This greatly reduces the amount of pesticides needed, which is good for the farmer and the surrounding land and water.”
Scientists are also making advances in the kinds of products used on farms, Basso said. Biodegradable plastic mulch is replacing synthetic mulch that does not decompose. More plant-based pesticides and herbicides are becoming available.
A local perspective from Ada
Heather Anderson, the owner of Green Wagon Farm, in Ada, uses all-natural products to combat insects and weeds on her certified organic farm.
Spotted wing drosophila is an insect that lays its eggs on the inside of fruit, like this raspberry, causing it to rot. Credit: University of Minnesota Extension
“We are constantly vigilant for new threats to our crops,” Anderson said. “We don’t do preventative spraying, instead we scout the farm ourselves, and pick weeds by hand.”
At 18 acres, Green Wagon Farm is much smaller than the average U.S. farm size of 211 acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Removing weeds by hand becomes more difficult on large farms.
“It’d be nice if all farms could be fully biodegradable and have no waste, but sometimes synthetic products are unavoidable,” Basso said.
This is not to say that farmers aren’t looking for more sustainable methods.
“Pesticides are incredibly expensive, and it would be more cost-effective to spray one small area than to have to spray an entire field,” Campbell said. “There’s a notion that farmers want to spray pesticides everywhere, and don’t care about the impacts on the land and water. But the land and water is their livelihood.”
Keeping the lines of communication open
A challenge is the communication between farmers and scientists, Campbell said.
Scientists lack the hands-on experience of being a farmer, and this makes it difficult for farmers to trust that their advice is best.
Money is also a big factor, according to Basso.
“Farmers have historically been more conservative when it comes to implementing new practices,” Basso said. “They have a financial risk, because if they change a way of doing something and it doesn’t work out, they lose that money that they would’ve made before.”
But as the weather gets warmer, farmers understand that their practices have to change or they will not be able to survive, Campbell said.
“Farmers want to do the right thing,” Campbell said. “I’ve never met a farmer who said they don’t care when it comes to the environment.”
Sarah is a junior at Michigan State University double majoring in Social Relations & Policy and Journalism. She is interested in writing about how politics affects local communities and making information accessible for everyone. In her free time, she likes boxing, yoga, and spending time with friends, family, and her dog.
LANSING – Paramedics and emergency personnel are sharply divided over a plan that addresses the shortage of Michigan paramedics by creating a statewide certification program that would deviate from the national accreditation program.
Michigan looks at creating a statewide certification program for paramedics. (Photo from Pxhere.com)
A bill sponsored by Rep. Jeff Yaroch, R-Richmond, would allow the state to make its own requirements to be certified as a paramedic.
Yaroch previously spent 25 years as a firefighter and paramedic in Clinton Township. The bill recently passed the House, 102-6, and now goes to the state Senate, where it is likely to pass with bipartisan support.
To become licensed as a paramedic in Michigan, a person must be nationally accredited. The cost of becoming a licensed paramedic in Michigan can range from $1,400 to $12,000, according to Paramedic Training Spot, an online resource for those looking to become licensed paramedics.
With its own accreditation program, the state would no longer need to adhere to the national standards.
Trying to balance cost with need
Paramedics would still need to pass an examination proctored by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
That agency estimates $2 million would be required to establish a training program, with yearly costs of $1.6 million. Michigan now spends $2.3 million per year on EMS funding.
“Right now, a person needs national accreditation to be a paramedic,” said Angela Madden, the executive director of the Michigan Association of EMTs, which supports the bill. “That costs a lot of money, and needing national accreditation makes it harder for small paramedic departments to pay for certification.
“This means that these small departments won’t have paramedics and will have to shut down, leaving the people in that area without that care,” Madden said.
Shoring up the paramedic shortage
There are more than 1,000 open positions for paramedics in Michigan, and two paramedic departments have had to shut down, Madden said.
One is in Mason, in rural Ingham County. The other is in Pickford Township, in Chippewa County. The people living in these communities now have to wait longer for emergency care, which could be a life or death problem, she said.
“There’s no real difference between what this bill would do and the national accreditation program,” Madden said. “Students will still need to pass the Michigan test to be accredited.”
“The goal of this bill is to get more people to become paramedics,” Madden said. “I believe that this bill will enable more people to become paramedics and benefit communities across Michigan.”
But not everyone agrees.
Cost not the only issue
“I don’t think that, if passed, this bill will do much in terms of recruitment,” said Anthony Cerroni, a paramedic instructor coordinator in Dearborn Heights.
“It’s not an issue of money. It’s a generational issue. Kids aren’t choosing to become paramedics, just like they’re not choosing to become police officers or other public safety officials,” he said.
Cerroni said he is unsure if much can be done to encourage more people to become paramedics. Benefits have increased over the past five years, but not even the better pay is enough, he said.
“Another concern I have about the state having its own accreditation board is that a paramedic’s license might not be transferable to other states. A national requirement makes it so anyone can practice in any state without this concern,” he said.
Bryan Harmer, a full-time professor of emergency medical services at Lansing Community College who spent nearly 20 years as a paramedic, testified in a House committee hearing that the bill does not address the real causes of the paramedic shortage.
“This bill fails to address the root causes of our workforce shortage: low wages, bad working conditions and lack of professional advancement,” said Harmer. “It isn’t uncommon for EMS providers to work multiple jobs and well over 60 hours a week to make ends meet and feed their families.”
Making sure standards are met
It would be a waste of taxpayer money to create a state accreditation program when a national one exists, he told the committee last May. A state accreditation program could put lives at risk if it fails to adequately train paramedics.
“The most egregious error I ever encountered in EMS resulted from a paramedic who had recently graduated from a paramedic program in Michigan, back when unaccredited programs were permitted in Michigan,” Harmer testified. “This error resulted in the death of a young mother with two children.”
The bill does not mean paramedics could practice without a license from an accredited program, Madden said. She disagreed that paramedics would receive subpar training.
“Paramedics will be held to high standards through the Michigan state accreditation program,” Madden said. “My agency would never support a bill that could put patient lives in danger.”
Bill cosponsors are Reps. Terry Sabo, D-Muskegon, Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, Gregory Markkanen, R-Hancock and Kelly Breen, D-Novi.
Supporters include Lake Michigan College and the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union. Opponents include the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians and Michigan Health and Hospital Association.
A new University of Michigan study aims to understand how environmental exposures in Michigan contribute to cancer.
Sara Snyder is project director of the Michigan Cancer and Research on the Environment Study, or MI-CARES. (Credit: University of Michigan)
The Michigan Cancer and Research on the Environment Study, or MI-CARES, is largely motivated by Michigan’s history of toxic environmental exposures and environmental injustice, said Sara Snyder, the project director.
Researchers are recruiting 100,000 ethnically diverse, cancer-free Michiganders ages 25 to 44. It’s a statewide survey, but they’ll focus enrollment on what they’ve identified as six major environmental injustice hotspots: the Detroit metropolitan area, Saginaw, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Flint, Snyder said.
Environmental injustice refers to people who belong to groups that are discriminated against and are disproportionately exposed to contaminants and other health hazards.
June 1 marked the soft launch to test the website used to recruit candidates. People enroll every day, but the study’s full launch was earlier this fall.
A first in Michigan
“Nothing like this has been done in the state of Michigan before, which is almost shocking if you know about the levels of environmental injustice that have taken place,” said Lilah Khoja, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan on the MI-CARES team.
“There isn’t a community in Michigan that hasn’t been impacted in some way by environmental injustice,” she said.
It dates back decades: the PBB contamination of dairy products in the 1970s, the Flint water crisis, industrial pollution in Detroit and now PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment, Snyder said.
The project, funded by the National Cancer Institute and the University of Michigan, will track participants through annual questionnaires for at least six years, Snyder said.
They’ll be asked about employment and residential histories,race, ethnicity, major health and life events and overall lifestyle to gauge participant health and previous exposures to industrial chemicals or other contaminants, Snyder said.
Beyond cancer, the surveys might also shed light on how exposures to chemicals in the environment cause heart disease, asthma or even Alzheimer’s disease, said Dana Dolinoy, the principal investigator of biomarker evaluations for MI-CARES.
Compiling the data needed for change
Such surveys have a proven track record. For instance, cancer rates are significantly higher in Flint compared to the rest of Genesee County and the state after lead contaminated the city’s water supply.
“My cousin, my aunt, my friend have all died of cancer,” said Arthur Woodson, a Flint resident and community activist. “People are dying in high numbers here of cancer.”
Community activists at the Pittsfield Farmers Market offer information about MI-CARES. Credit: MI-CARES.
Such anecdotal reports can be reinforced by hard data produced by health studies from the Genesee County Health Department proving elevated cancer levels in the area.
A study recently published in JAMA Network Open found that 1 in 5 Flint residents have presumptive major depression and another 1 in 4 have presumptive post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“They fixed the water, but they didn’t fix the people,” Woodson said.
Providing people with the data they need
A large goal of MI-CARES is to give people access to data that will help them advocate for a cleaner environment and a healthier life, Khoja said.
“You can’t advocate for change if you don’t have the numbers to show that this is why it needs to change,” she said.
Cancer-centric studies like this one, whether linking it to smoking, a lack of physical activity or poor diet, played a role in a 29% drop in cancer death rates between 1991 and 2017, according to the American Cancer Society.
MI-CARES’ data will help improve Michiganders’ health while informing policy to reduce environmental injustices and harmful exposures, Snyder said.
Researchers looked at what was going on in the state and narrowed the study’s focus to the most prominent of the 80,000 chemicals in the environment: exposure to metals, like lead, chemicals in personal care products, air pollution and PFAS, Dolinoy said.
Addressing the issues
Michigan has the highest known PFAS levels of any state.
To measure some contaminants like lead, participants from the six environmental injustice hotspots will send in blood and saliva. These measurements, called intermediate biomarkers, show if a past environmental exposure changed the epigenome – the instruction book telling genes how to behave – to make them more susceptible to cancer and other diseases, Dolinoy said.
The study focuses on a younger population so that researchers might recognize any diseases before they manifest, Dolinoy said.
“This gives us time to intervene and treat individuals, because when the disease is already on board, it’s really hard to reverse it,” she said.
There’s evidence, though, that relatively easier things like changes in lifestyle and diet might reverse changes to that epigenetic instruction book, especially early in life, Dolinoy said.
Building a better tomorrow
The hope is to inspire policy intervention with MI-CARES findings, forcing industry and other institutions responsible for poisoning the environment to change. That is a challenge that the health survey hopes to meet.
“It’s very difficult to translate some of this science in a way that will directly change the economics of a company,” Dolinoy said. “But studies like MI-CARES can provide a weight of evidence that shows our environment can negatively contribute to disease status.”
To apply to be part of the survey, visit https://micares.health and click “Join the Movement!” Applicants must be 25 to 44 years old and cancer-free.
Many of us realize that hospices are there to serve us.
It’s never too early to inquire about hospice care. With just a click or a call, you can learn about services available, eligibility, costs and more to find a good fit. (Adobe Stock)
But sometimes, it’s difficult to break the ice. How do you reach out – with a call or a click? And how do you express the need? With whom do you ask to speak? And what exactly do you say?
In a perfect world, there are protocols in place to accommodate all the above and more. And you should be able to reach out anytime – day or night, weekday or weekends, even on a holiday.
“At Emmanuel Hospice, we understand that life doesn’t stop when you have a need for hospice,” says Elizabeth Mangiapane, a patient access specialist there. “That’s why any time you call our main line, it’s going to be answered on a 24/7 basis. Easter Sunday? Middle of the night? It doesn’t matter. You will connect with someone who can help.”
Mangiapane emphasizes that a referral to Emmanuel can originate in more than one way. Often, a physician will make the connection. But sometimes, family members serving as caregivers become involved at the outset, and naturally they have questions about eligibility, timing and more.
While a physician’s order is required to perform a formal assessment, a representative from Emmanuel will welcome the opportunity to meet with a patient and/or their loved ones if they simply have questions.
In either case, “we do all the legwork,” Mangiapane says. If it’s determined someone qualifies, the hospice care provider will integrate the patient’s physician and medical history into the equation as needed.
“We’ll set up meetings. We’ll work with the doctors. We are glad to serve in any capacity that lessens the burden on that patient, on that family.”
Mangiapane notes that there’s never a “wrong time” to inquire about hospice. Too often, people will act on the misconception that hospice is only “for the last few days a patient has.”
On the contrary, “We’re trying more than ever to educate the community on how it can be for a much longer time period, so that we might focus earlier not on the quantity of life someone has left, but the quality of life that remains.”
For someone who lives in a nursing home or assisted living facility, that institution may have a working relationship with a preferred provider. But Mangiapane explains that a patient and their family have the right to choose any hospice, and shouldn’t feel pressured.
Mangiapane says it’s important you come away with a full understanding of the services a hospice provides. At Emmanuel, for example, a full slate of complementary services is available – pet visitors, massage therapy, music therapy, virtual reality and more.
Location of care is important to ask about, too. A common misconception is that hospice is a place you go to, but for most providers, hospice care can be provided anywhere. With Emmanuel, it can be in the hospital, a care facility or wherever a person calls home.
Cost is another consideration. Medicare and most commercial insurances will cover 100% of virtually everything provided by hospice – medications and visits, personal care, counseling and other services – but there are some limitations. A phone call can help you discover where you stand.
“Make your choices based on the needs of the patient and family,” says Mangiapane. “You want what’s right for you, and that can look different from person to person.”
LANSING – More therapy dogs and tourniquet emergency training are among the programs Michigan hospitals are investing in to better serve patients, health officials say.
Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids has been making tourniquets more accessible in public spaces as part of its Stop the Bleed campaign (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
The state’s hospitals invested more than $860 million in community-based partnerships and programming in 2020, according to a recent report by the Michigan Health and Hospital Association.
“Michigan hospitals and health systems serve and care for any patient that walks through their doors,” said John Karasinski, director of communications for the association. “ We know that there are some patients with … challenges and burdens and we do not want to be a detriment to them receiving the care that they need.”
The report outlines six major areas of investment: health education and guidance, support services, community outreach, health professional, community building and clinical research.
Hospitals have invested $60 million in mental health services like counseling, support groups and family support, the report said.
Teaching the public to stop the bleed
One example: Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids is making tourniquets more accessible in public spaces as part of its Stop the Bleed campaign, the report said. The campaign started in 2012 in response to the increase in mass shootings across the country.
One goal is to put tourniquets in public places where mass shootings are likely to occur like in malls, schools and grocery stores.
“We were able to supply some tourniquets to schools in the area,” said Meaghan Crawley, senior improvement specialist with trauma services at the hospital.
The hospital also provides low-cost or free training on how to stop bleeding. The training is open to anyone who could be a bystander to an emergency – even children as young as 11 years old can receive training.
“We’ve taught at many different local schools … and local churches and that is still ongoing,” Crawley said.
The addition of therapy dogs
Another example: McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital has expanded its pet therapy program after gaining success using it with geriatric psychiatric patients. Therapy dogs and their owners now even accompany doctors on their rounds to patients, the report said. They are also used in the Intensive Care Unit and the orthopedic hospital.
Some Michigan hospitals have added therapy dogs. (Pxhere.com)
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac has expanded to meet the need for dental care for people with disabilities. The dental office now has five rooms including one wheelchair-accessible room, the report said. The General Dental Residency program has expanded from three to four residents.
Michigan hospitals also provided $42 billion in financial assistance to patients with unpaid medical care costs, the report said.
The report is in response to the Affordable Care Act requirement that hospitals conduct a community health needs assessment at least every three years, Karasinski said. This assessment helps hospitals to accurately allocate funding where it is needed most.
The Michigan Health and Hospital Association represents more than 150 hospitals, including community hospitals, teaching hospitals, children hospitals, rural and urban hospitals and critical access hospitals.
Janelle James is a senior at Michigan State University double majoring in journalism and political science with a minor in Spanish. Janelle aspires to one day secure a position as an investigative journalist, White House correspondent or politician.
Kentwood’s Drug Take Back Day event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. (WKTV)
The fall National Drug Take Back Day has been set for this Saturday, Oct. 29, with both the Wyoming Department of Public Safety and the Kentwood Police Department participating in the event.
The annual event is part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back initiative. The event is held in April and October as part of ongoing efforts to combat prescription drug misuse and overdose deaths. For the April Take Back Day, the Department of Drug Enforcement reported that about 720,000 pounds of unneeded medications were collected. Since starting the program in 2010, around 16 million pounds of unneeded prescription medications have been collected.
“By taking advantage of this free and anonymous Drug Take Back Day, residents can help save lives,” said Kentwood Police Chief Bryan Litwin. “Proper medication disposal prevents identity theft, accidental poisonings, drug addiction and overdose deaths. It can also help preserve the environment by reducing the amount of medications in landfills and sewer systems. Please gather unneeded medications from your home and join us Oct. 29 as we work together to keep our community safe.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States, more than 107,000 people died as the result of a drug overdose last year. This figure means that someone in the United States is dying of a drug overdose every five minutes.
City of Kentwood
Residents may drop off unused, unwanted or expired prescription pills and patches from 10 a.m to 2 p.m at the Kentwood Police Department, 4742 Walma Ave. SE. Liquids, needles and sharp objects will not be accepted. For disposal of needles and other sharp objects, visit the Kent County Health Department’s reimaginetrash.org or click here.
The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked.
City of Wyoming
The Wyoming Department of Public Safety, 2300 DeHoop Ave., has a SafeMed box at the station where anyone may properly dispose of medications throughout the year.
The department also partners with University of Michigan Health West, 2122 Health Dr. SW, on Drug Take Back Day. The event at UMHW will be a drive-thru from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. People are encouraged to stay in their car and a volunteer will come to the vehicle.
As with the Kentwood program, this program is free with no questions asked.
For the next Mr. Sid’s Video Series, Lorna Dobson will lead a discussion on dealing with grief Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Rev. Ed Dobson’s book “Prayers and Promises” will be available at the Mr. Sid’s Video Series this Wednesday.
Dobson’s husband, Rev. Ed. Dobson, who was the long-time pastor at Calvary Undenominational located on the East Beltline, died of ALS in December of 2015. ALS is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and sometime’s referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It is a neurological disease that primarily affects the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement such as walking or chewing.
While dealing with ALS, Rev. Dobson produced two short videos, “My Garden,” issues of grief and loss and “Ask Forgiveness.” Lorna Dobson will lead the discussion on the videos.
Also available will be Rev. Dobson’s book and audio CDs Prayers and Promises,” a 30-day devotional or morning and evening reflections when facing a life-threatening illness.
The program is at 2 p.m. at Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW.
Upcoming Mr. Sid’s Video Series presentations
Nov. 2: Traverse City resident, Vietnam veteran, and Silver Star recipient Tim Keenan snuggled with his wartime experiences while hiking the Appalachian Trail, Keenan wrote about his journey in “The Good Hike.”
Dec. 21: “I’ll be Home for Christmas” the group’s traditional celebration of the meaning of Christmas as well as the importance of what “I’ll be home for Christmas” means to veterans.
To date, the Kent County Health Department has received and tested double the number of bats than it did in 2021, which has local officials reminding residents about the dangers of bats and rabies.
The Kent County Health Department has received and tested 82 bats so far this season. (Courtesy, Kent County Health Department)
August through October are the busiest months for the department’s bat program as the mammals moved indoors to breed. The latest count for this year stands at 82 bats. In 2021, the department saw 41 bats which was about 20 less than 2020, which was 61.
Steve Kelso, a spokesperson for the Kent County Health Department, said county officials are not sure if the increase means there actually has been an uptick in numbers.
“It may just mean that people are more aware of the program and are bringing them in here,” Kelso said.
Bites and scratches from bats can go undetected
The concern over bats centers on the fact that they can transmit rabies to other animals and humans. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, rabies are mostly found in wild animals such as bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes. The Kent County Health Department and the Kent County Animal Shelter work with the State of Michigan to perform necropsies – autopsies on animals – to identify and track the number of infected bats. This year, of the 82 bats brought to the Health Department, only five tested positive for rabies.
“I don’t know the status of those cases. If those people were bitten or scratched by that bat but there are five lives that we potentially saved through that program,” Kelso said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of human rabies in the United States is rare with about one to three reported annually. From 2009-2018, there have been 25 reported cases of human rabies in the United States. In Kent County, the last reported case of human rabies was in 1983.
While cases of rabies have been declining since the 1970s due to animal control and vacation programs as well as public outreach, the disease can be fatal if not detected.
Rabies is transmitted through bites or scratches. Because a bat’s teeth are very small, the animal’s bites can go undetected.
“You walk in the room and you see it for the first time, you likely haven’t been bitten or scratched, but if you wake up in the room and the bat’s in there, you don’t really know,” Kelso said, adding that if there’s even the slightest chance that you’ve been bitten, take it seriously.
What to do if you find a bat in your home
Guidelines from the Kent County Health Department recommend that if you find a bat in your home, you should try to capture it to get it tested, unless you are 100 percent sure you have not been bitten.
If you wake up and find a bat in your bedroom, it is recommended that you get the bat tested for rabies and you contact your health provider. (Courtesy, The Kent County Health Department)
To capture a bat, officials recommend wearing a layer of protective clothing, including leather gloves, to avoid being bit. Once you are prepared, place a box or coffee can over the bat and slide a piece of cardboard under the container. Kelso acknowledged he’s no expert at catching bats but he said the important thing is to take it seriously and limit possible exposure.
“If there were a bat in my house, I would be putting on an extra layer, coat, jacket, something,” he said. “I’d be doing anything I could to not come in contact with that bat.“
Adding with a laugh that “…if it were in my house, I’d probably put on a full face motorcycle helmet just because I have one handy.”
Prevention is the key, but there is a treatment as well
When capturing a bat, it is important to not damage the bat’s head as that is what is needed to do the testing. Also, if the bat is dead, keep it cool but don’t freeze it.
“It’s really important that you do not smash the head of the bat…That you don’t crush the brain because that brain is what has to be tested in necropsy.” Kelso said.
If you’ve been exposed to rabies, it’s important to contact a doctor immediately, Kelso said, adding the earlier the treatment, the better. The CDC noted that there has been less than 20 documented cases of people surviving rabies.
The treatment for rabies is Post Exposure Prophylaxis which is a series of four shots. The shots are usually given in the arm for adults and in the thigh for children. A welcome change from the days when the shots were administered in the stomach.
To contact the Kent County Health Department, call 616-632-7200 during regular business hours, which are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Captured bats should be taken to the Kent County Animal Shelter, located at 740 Fuller NE. The shelter is open from 1 – 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday.
Pictured is an Emmanuel Hospice patient receiving massage therapy, which is one of the nonprofit’s complementary therapies that can be used to reduce pain, lower stress and manage fatigue. (Courtesy, Emmanuel Hospice)
For caregivers and survivors left in the wake of some six million who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s more than grief and anxiety to consider.
That’s the message from organizers of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day, celebrated Saturday, Oct. 8, to commemorate and support hospice and palliative care around the world with one voice advocating quality of life and equitable healthcare for all.
It’s also an opportunity to help people understand the difference between hospice care and palliative care, emphasizes Michele Siegel, a social worker for Emmanuel Hospice.
“A lot of people group the two together, but there are distinct differences,” she points out. “The biggest one is that with palliative care, you typically don’t have a life expectancy of six months or less to qualify for symptom management.”
At Emmanuel and other hospices, the primary emphasis is on providing holistic care and support for someone seeking to live as pain-free and alert as possible throughout a serious illness. Medications, equipment, supplies and care relate to pain and symptom relief.
That contrasts markedly from palliative care, where the patient is likely still fighting their illness and continues employing strategies tied to the prospect of cures.
“Does hospice provide palliative care?” Siegel poses. “In a sense, yes. We provide palliative care in the sense that our goal is to provide comfort and care. But with hospice, you also have a terminal diagnosis, and so you’re not seeking curative treatments.”
Sometimes, people suffering from the same maladies can be receiving either hospice or palliative care. They often include those diagnosed with cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions. The care they choose to receive determines whether they’re receiving palliative or hospice care. If they’re fighting their condition with therapies or clinical trials or other options designed to sustain life, that’s palliative care. If they’re mostly managing pain and symptoms and focused on “making the best of the time you have left,” says Siegel, that’s subscribing to hospice care.
According to Siegel, it’s important to rely on healthcare workers you trust – as well as friends or family members who may be serving as caregivers – to both understand and act on options available. In either case, she says, it’s important to find someone who wants to “coach but not force” decisions affecting care.
The organization supporting World Hospice & Palliative Care Day – online at theWHPCA.org – offers a digital toolkit on its website to help inform and educate those interested in the annual observance.
Siegel applauds such measures, noting that individual hospice care providers like Emmanuel also go to great means to educate people on who they are, what they stand for and the services they provide.
“We’re always just a click or a phone call away, and eager to inform people wondering about their options,” she says. “It’s not always easy wading through all the information available. We’re here to help with that.”
September 18-24 was Falls Prevention Week, a nationwide effort to raise awareness that falls are preventable. As we get older the chance of our suffering a fall increases, in fact according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA) 1 in 4 Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
To help with walking, find a good balance and exercise program. (pxhere.com)
Relying on your body to catch you and keep you steady, and then losing this ability, can be a serious downfall to your mobility and morale. Sometimes the fear of falling can be such an all-consuming worry that you may start retreating from doing the things you used to love. However, just because you are noticing a drop in your confidence, movement levels, and strength, does not mean that you can’t improve upon these things and live a fulfilling life. The key to fall prevention is that because we know which factors contribute to falls we can work to prevent them. The National Council on Aging recommends a number of steps you can take to prevent a fall and build your confidence along the way!
Exercise is the key
The first is to find a good balance and exercise program. This is vital because building up your body’s flexibility, strength, and balance enables you to avoid falling in the first place, and if you do happen to fall, you’ll have the ability to get up safely. The Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan (AAAWM) offers a variety of evidence-based falls prevention classes through its Healthy Aging partner programs such as A Matter of Balance and EnhanceFitness. There are a number of evidenced-based programs available throughout West Michigan, and you can learn more by calling AAAWM at 616-456-5664 or visiting www.aaawm.org. YouTube can also be a great online resource for finding free at-home exercise classes at a level that is best for you.
Advice from the expert
Talking to your health care provider is the second step to fall prevention. It is helpful to go over your medical history and if you’ve experienced falls in the past. Your provider also has the ability to assess your risk level for a fall and what can be addressed to lower this risk. The third measure you can take to prevent a fall can also be done with your doctor, and this is to regularly review your medications. Some medication’s side effects can increase your risk of falling, and of course, you should take medications only as they are prescribed by your doctor. Step four of fall prevention is to get your vision and hearing checked annually. Proper sight can help you avoid trip hazards and obstacles, and abnormalities in your inner ear can also negatively impact your balance. Treat your health as a top priority to fall prevention and check in with your doctor on these three steps to ensure your well-being.
It all starts at home
The fifth step that NCOA recommends to avoid a fall is to keep your home safe by removing hazards that are commonly overlooked, but easy to fix. A few things to look for: Do you have a clear pathway through your rooms? Look for rugs, cords and wires, and bulky furniture that may be in your way. Assess your stairs; if steps are uneven or broken this can cause you to fall, and make sure that your stairway is well-lit and has a handrail.
In the kitchen, it is best if items are not on kept high shelves, and that your step stool is sturdy if you must use it. In your bedroom, you should have a light close to the bed within easy reach, as well as a well-lit path to the bathroom. Lastly, your bathroom should have some sort of support for you to rely on when using the toilet and bathtub, and if you have a slippery shower floor, add a non-slip rubber mat.
Systems and programs that can help
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) can also bring peace of mind to individuals and can be a vital line of support. A PERS program often provides a cellular in-home unit in the form of either a necklace or wristband that can call dispatch at the press of a button. Users have the freedom to set who they would like to receive the emergency notification from dispatch to send help, whether family, friend, neighbor, or ambulance. Currently PERS are available in the region, you can call AAAWM at 616-456-5664 to learn more. All are helpful things to keep your home safe.
A little help from your friends
The last step in fall prevention is to enlist the help of your family and friends. Let them know that you are worried about falling and would appreciate their help in making your home a safe space. They can provide an extra set of eyes and hands to rid your house of obstacles. They are also likely to help you navigate talking to your doctor, checking your vision and hearing, and reviewing your medications. Having their help will make the process less overwhelming for you. Often those around you are eager and willing to help, you just need to ask.
These six steps come together to help you avoid falls, so you can continue to do the things that you love. Getting older doesn’t mean a loss of independence; it simply means adapting your environment to best fit your needs so that you can flourish. Be sure to use the resources around you; from your doctor to a family member or friend, to help you take these preventative measures.
Some Michigan communities are trying to accommodate aging residents – and it’s not just the gray-haired population that benefits, advocates say.
Age-friendly communities allow seniors to be independent and continue to do things they love such as shopping. (pxhere.com)
More than 18% of the state’s population is 65 or older, according to the U.S. Census. It ranks 14th among the states for the largest population of people over 65.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in June approved a plan to make the state age-friendly.
It focuses on communication and information, respect and social inclusion, health services and community support, social participation and transportation.
That comes after announcing an initiative in 2019 with the AARP and the World Health Organization to make Michigan an age-friendly state.
Building an age-friendly community
An age-friendly community is a place where people of all ages can live comfortably, according to AARP, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Americans who are 50 or older.
Since then, nine cities have come up with an age-friendly community plan.
Auburn Hills was the first in Michigan to join a national network of such communities in 2013. It was followed by Highland Park and Lansing in 2015; East Lansing and Southfield in 2017; Grand Rapids in 2018 and Royal Oak and Jackson in 2019. Oak Park joined just this year.
Age-friendly communities allow seniors to be independent and continue to do things that they love, like going to the grocery store and visiting their grandchildren within their community, said Paula Cunningham, the state director for AARP Michigan.
They offer benefits to others, too, Cunningham said. For instance, longer crosswalk times help seniors with walkers, but also help those using wheelchairs and parents pushing strollers, she said.
Grand Rapids focuses on making information available
The City of Grand Rapids started working on its age-friendly community plan in 2016, according to Jay Steffen, assistant planning director for the City of Grand Rapids. After meeting with more than 500 area seniors, hosting several meetings, and talking to leaders in the community, the city’s efforts culminated into The Grand Rapids Age-Friendly Action Plan that is focused on four areas: communications, housing, outdoor spaces, and transportation.
The accessible walking trails is one the amenities that makes the City of Grand Rapids’ Mackay-Jayvee Park an age-friendly park. (Courtesy, City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation)
Through the communication program, the city established a webpage designed to provide information on the four main topics along with connecting residents to services such as United Way’s 211, Network 180, and Senior Neighbors.
“It has been an interesting and challenging process because of the pandemic,” Steffen noted. “We do feel that the more readership we have along with working with the many other agencies that we are doing a fairly good job at getting the word out.”
The city’s parks and recreation department has contributed to the site by providing a list of 28 parks that are the most age-friendly based on a number of amenities such as restrooms, drinking fountains, parking, accessibility to walking paths, and seating.
Steffen said the city also has reached out to Senior Perspectives magazine, which focuses on providing information for seniors, to have the publication available in Grand Rapids.
City of Wyoming discusses age-friendly in master plan
While the City of Wyoming has not formally adopted an age-friendly community plan, its new [re]imagine master plan, does recognize that the city has experienced a “significant increase in the proportion of older adults aged 65 years and up…”
Under the Traditional Residential section of the plan’s Land Use recommendations, the master plan encourages expanding housing options for older adults seeking to age-in-place.
By providing such options, it makes it easier for a family to provide daily care to aging members as the family can moved closer to that member or have the member move closer to the family, said Nicole Hofert, the city’s director of planning and economic development.
What they are doing on the other side of the state
East Lansing community leaders strive to make the city accessible to young and old, said Thomas Fehrenbach, the director of planning, building and development for the city.
“Throughout the plan, we are very intentional on addressing not just seniors but people of all ages and all abilities,” said Fehrenbach, a member of East Lansing’s Age-friendly Community Committee.
The city’s plan focuses on housing, transportation, communications/information, social participation, respect and social inclusion, community support and health services, outdoor spaces and buildings, civic participation and employment. It was approved by the AARP in 2020.
The community plan for Southfield is similar.
The city has already achieved many goals, like placing more benches at bus stops and across the city, said Kendall Murphy, the immediate past chair of Southfield’s Commission on Senior Adults.
“With the rapid aging of baby boomers, we needed to make sure that we were prepared for that population to start being retired,” Murphy said. “We wanted to make sure that people were supported as they are aging. ”
Michigan was the first state in the Midwest and fifth in the country to join the network of age-friendly communities.
Janelle James is a sophomore at Michigan State University. She is pursing a double major in journalism and political science. James aspires to one day secure a position as an investigative journalist, white house correspondent, or politician. She is the state government reporter at The State News and has an internship with HOMTV, the government access channel for meridian Township. At HOMTV, James anchors live new shows, conducts interviews and covers local government.
Many seniors want to “age in place” with help from family and/or friends. (pxhere.com)
LANSING – Funding for in-home care and other state senior services is not increasing proportionally to the number of seniors in Michigan, according to Melissa Seifert, the associate state director of AARP Michigan.
“Michigan is one of the most rapidly aging states in the nation,” Seifert said. “But we’re also one of the worst states when it comes to adequately addressing the needs of our senior population.
“A large amount of taxpayer dollars go to nursing homes, but not enough go to at-home care,” she said.
Many seniors have a desire to stay at home
Most senior citizens want to “age in place,” staying at home and being cared for by family or friends, said Seifert, whose organization provides seniors with information and services. But that is impossible for most people with current funding.
The one-time federal funding under the American Rescue Plan Act offers the opportunity to better care for the state’s elderly population, she said.
Though the money is an important step, Seifert said ongoing support is needed. The goal is to bring about structural changes in at-home care funding that will make a positive difference without creating additional financial obligations for taxpayers, she said.
A growing senior population
The two most pressing issues for seniors are unnecessary institutionalization and overcrowded senior care facilities, Seifert said.
These problems are likely to get worse as more people get older and are no longer able to care for themselves the way they used to, advocates say.
The proportion of Michigan seniors is expected to reach 22% by 2050, said Cathleen Simlar, the communications manager for AARP Michigan. And the proportion of people 85 and older in Michigan is expected to reach 4.8% by the same year.
“We are incredibly unprepared for the amount of people who will be needing senior services in the coming years,” said Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, who is a member of the House Committee for Families, Children and Seniors.
The need for more funding
“We’ll need more funding for them, especially for their health care. Although there are options to help people with paying for health care, it should be expanded,” Pohutsky said.
Seifert agrees. “Not only is there a lack of government funding in health care, but there’s a shortage of direct care workers to serve those who want to stay at home,” she said.
Michigan needs 34,000 more home caregivers than the 165,000 it has, Seifert said. But “noncompetitive pay, low job satisfaction, unpredictable schedules and the absence of benefits” make it difficult to attract and retain them.
That turnover costs Michigan $684 million per year, she said.
Coming up with creative solutions
Services provided by the Tri-County Office on Aging have been strained during and after the COVID-19 pandemic as more people are choosing to age at home rather than move into a senior care facility, said Casey Cooper, the community engagement and fundraising director for the agency serving Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties.
“For example, we do a Meals on Wheels program for our seniors and community members with disabilities,” Cooper said.
“Our services were definitely strained during the pandemic, and we had to get creative in order to serve everyone. Although qualifications for who could request our services were expanded, funding was not,” Cooper said.
There was not enough funding for one hot meal a day for everyone, she said. So, instead, seven frozen meals were delivered once a week. Now, the program has gone back to one hot meal a day, but people can still request frozen meals.
More creative solutions will be needed as the population of Michigan’s seniors grows, Cooper said.
There is a need for volunteers as well
“Right now, we have a shortage of funding and volunteers,” she said. “If funding is not increased along with the increase of seniors, people will not be able to access all of the services we would be able to provide them.”
Seifert said the coronavirus pandemic highlighted many holes in services for seniors.
“These issues were overlooked before and, hopefully now, increased funding and resources will be allotted to us and allow us to serve our senior communities how they want to be served,” she said.
Sarah is a junior at Michigan State University double majoring in Social Relations & Policy and Journalism. She is interested in writing about how politics affects local communities and making information accessible for everyone. In her free time, she likes boxing, yoga, and spending time with friends, family, and her dog.
Picture this: You’re walking through the woods when you brush up against some tall grass, or maybe you wandered off trail momentarily. You head home, but the next day notice a black speck on your arm.
It’s a tick.
Beyond the gross-out factor, you wonder if it might make you sick. A new mobile app may help figure that out.
Emily Dinh, a medical entomologist with the Department of Health and Human Services, says encounters people are having with ticks are becoming more common.
That’s as the state’s tick population has been on the rise, including numbers of the American dog tick and the blacklegged tick, which can transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
“That blacklegged tick is something that we’re concerned about and seeing a greater distribution throughout the state of Michigan. That is the tick that can transmit Lyme disease,” Dinh said.
In 2021, the state health department reported nearly half of Michigan’s counties had a known risk of Lyme disease for people and animals.
Ticks like shady, moist areas
Ticks are typically found in wooded and brushy areas but can even show up in suburban yards.
“The most important thing to be aware of is where ticks are, so ticks like shady, moist areas in woody, grassy locations,” she said. “Especially in the warmer months of April through September, but sometimes into October as well because ticks can be active when the temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Barry OConnor is a tick expert at the University of Michigan’s Zoology Museum. He cites a rise in temperatures as a possible reason for the increased risk.
“We’ve certainly seen changes in the distribution of several species of ticks moving northward over the years as temperatures have become warmer,” OConnor said.
According to the state, average yearly temperatures have increased two to three degrees in the past two decades.
The Tick App
A group of researchers from universities across the U.S. decided to create a mobile app, called The Tick App. (Courtesy, The Tick App)
Because of growing concerns about the pests, both in Michigan and across the country, a group of researchers from universities across the U.S. decided to create a mobile app, simply called The Tick App.
Michigan State University professor Jean Tsao said the app allows scientists to learn more about where ticks are and what people are doing to keep safe from them. She is in the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife and is part of the group that helped develop the digital portal.
“It’s a mobile health app that is both a research tool as well as an outreach tool,” she said.
When people download it, they’re prompted to fill out a 10-minute survey about potential risk factors.
“We really wanted to understand, if possible, when and where and what kind of activities people are doing to expose themselves to ticks,” Tsao said.
She said users are also able to take a picture of a tick and submit it to the app. The research team is then able to identify it within 24 hours.
“They have a lot of reliable information all collated into one area that can tell you about what a tick is, what the various species of ticks are that you’re likely to contact in the area that you live and what are prevention measures that you can take,” Tsao said.
Tips on avoiding ticks
To avoid ticks, Tsao recommends wearingbug repellent and long clothing outside.
After returning home, a full-body tick check and shower is also ideal.
Tsao said the research team is working to use artificial intelligence to make tick identification faster and more accurate.
She said she hopes that with this advancement, the app may one day be used by health care workers as a diagnostic tool.
Genevieve Fox reports for WKAR Radio in partnership with the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and Capital News Service.
