Tagged: community health

Last year, Michigan enacted a law that requires insurance companies to cover childhood autism treatments.

Today, the Michigan Department of Community Health will roll out its autism coverage plan.

There are about 50,000 people in Michigan with autism.  It’s a disorder that effects communication and social skills.

It is estimated that nearly 50 percent of Michigan residents will be obese by 2030.

But don’t throw your salad out in reckless abandon just yet.

There is hope for your waistline, said Dr. Tom Peterson.

Director of Quality, Safety and Community Health at DeVos Children’s Hospital, Peterson helped organize ShapeMichigan.

According to Peterson, obesity is a relatively new problem.

Flu cases in Michigan continue to rise as the Department of Community Health (MDCH) confirmed last week that a third child and at least two adults have died from the illness.

According to the state’s most recent Influenza Surveillance Update, there have been 252 confirmed cases of the flu for the 2012-13 season (starting Sept. 30, 2012).

A new report finds Michigan is prepared for some public health emergencies.

But there's more work to be done.

The report called Ready or Not looked at ten key indicators, including whether the state maintained or increased funding for public health programs in the past year.

Michigan did not.

“The federal, state and local budget cuts to public health preparedness, documented in the report, are very alarming and they are putting all of our past success at risk,” says Paul Kuehnert with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Michigan health officials say the flu has arrived in Michigan, and it's much earlier than usual. 

The flu doesn't usually get a grip until January or February. But more than 30 cases have been reported so far in the state.

Angela Minicucci is with the Michigan Department of Community Health. She says it could be a nasty flu season, and with holiday family gatherings coming up, it's a good idea to get a flu shot now.

Twenty-two years ago today, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was first charged with murder.

He was charged with the death of Janet Adkins, an Alzheimer's patient who traveled from Oregon seeking Kevorkian’s assistance in ending her life.

Michigan Radio’s Jack Lessenberry knew Kevorkian and extensively covered his trial.

“Kevorkian was more of a scientist than a doctor. He was obsessed with death and obsessed with the idea of organ transplants. He was presented by Geoffrey Fieger as concerned with alleviating peoples’ suffering,” said Lessenberry.

Lessenberry found Kevorkian to be both impatient and strikingly intelligent.

“He was brilliant; he probably had an IQ of 200. He was a restless person and a self-destructive person. He was a very different individual,” said Lessenberry.