Health

Any news story about a teen dying by suicide tears a hole in our hearts. How did it come to this? Were there warning signs? Would I know if my teen struggled with mental health issues and thoughts of suicide?

Michigan State University psychiatrist Dr. Farha Abbasi joined Stateside to talk about what we can do to prevent suicide, the third-leading cause of death among adolescents.

Plans to change Michigan’s mental health system would take a step forward under a budget plan moving through the Legislature.

The legislation calls for a pilot program in Kent County that would integrate Medicaid's mental and physical health services under private insurers.

Ladies, does this sound familiar? You want to lose weight. So, you start an exercise program.

But the weight loss isn't anything like you'd been hoping for.

You feel bad about that, and your interest in that fitness program withers. And then you feel bad about that too!

Major changes could be coming tomorrow in the services for people living with a mental illness or a developmental disability in Michigan.

How worried should you be about pesticide residue on produce? 

Yesterday, we spoke with a veteran food scientist who said not to be alarmed. Today, chlorpyrifos is the topic of conversation. It's a widely-used pesticide sold by Dow Chemical. 

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her family are invested in a company called Neurocore, a brain performance company. She sat on the board of the company until she became one of President Trump’s cabinet members.

A recent piece in the Washington Post looked at Neurocore. Its author, Ulrich Boser, is a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.

Why did he become interested in Neurocore?

Just how worried should we be about pesticide residues on the fresh fruits and veggies we buy? Can we trust government standards? Are consumers avoiding the fresh produce that is a healthier choice for fear of pesticide residue?

The U.S. Senate is considering the American Healthcare Act. That’s the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

One of the industries at the center of the health care reform debate is, of course, health insurance. Terri Kline is President and CEO of Health Alliance Plan, a subsidiary of the Henry Ford Health System.

As more kids deal with mental health issues, a young Dexter man shares what got him through school on today's Stateside. And from Mackinac Island, the University of Michigan's president weighs in on access, funding, and the future of public higher education.

Spencer Walz began struggling with anxiety back in grade school.

Now 25, he speaks from hard-won experience when he talks about helping young people struggling with mental health issues, and how best to help them overcome fears that talking about it will cause additional problems.

Energy drinks are omnipresent on college campuses. So is alcohol. Unsurprisingly, at college parties and bars, the two are often mixed together. How do such combinations of alcohol and caffeine affect young people?

That's what Aradhna Krishna explored in new research into alcohol and energy drinks.

Crime is down in Detroit, but the homicide rate in the city is still high. For all the talk about Chicago's murder rate, Detroit's per capita rate is higher.

One of the newest efforts to deal with the violence is an intervention initiative called D-LIVE, which stands for "Detroit Life Is Valuable Everyday." The program treats violent crime as a health care issue and goes into the hospital to talk to gunshot victims. 

Mental health therapy can take many forms. But what about running?

Sasha Wolff founded a group called “Still I Run.” The group's goal is to encourage people struggling with mental health issues to get out and run. She spoke to Stateside about running for mental health.

The Next Idea

Opioid addiction and meth use are making news almost every day, but tackling today’s drug epidemic isn’t easy. Treatments like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous might work for some who struggle with addiction, but not for others.

On Thursday, the U.S. House approved a new health care policy designed by Republicans representatives to replace Obamacare. Each one of Michigan’s Republican representatives voted in favor of the replacement bill, while no Democrats (in Michigan or any other state) gave the bill their support.

Michigan Republicans were likewise united in the condemnation of Obamacare – also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Representative Tim Walberg, for instance, said, “Obamacare is on the brink of collapse and has failed to live up to its many promises.”

Representative John Moolenar called the ACA, “the collapsing health care law.”

Not everyone agrees with those assessments.

It's well documented that literacy and reading are essential keys to success in life.

So what are some good ways parents can teach their children to make reading a central part of their lives?

Lead poisoning and infant mortality are two of the biggest problems facing Michigan.

Roughly seven babies out of every thousand born in Michigan do not live to their first birthday. 

It's been three years since Flint's ill-fated switch to the Flint River as its' drinking water source.

Then-Mayor Dayne Walling pushed the button that ended 50 years of getting Detroit water.

This is a big week for the future of mental health care in Michigan.

All the complexities aside, which have been covered at length on Stateside over the last year, essentially it comes down to one question: Should the mental health services remain in the control of public entities like Community Mental Health centers, or should private insurance companies take the lead?