Health

Almost one in seven children living in Highland Park in 2016 had high levels of lead in their blood, according to a new report from the state's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

The study looked at nine different cities with historically higher-than-average rates of children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs), including Highland Park, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint and Lansing.

Federal guidelines state that for children under six,  five micrograms per deciliter is considered a high blood lead level, though no amount is considered safe.

A Detroit funeral home has been shut down after inspections found decomposing embalmed bodies, unsanitary conditions, and other violations.

The state's Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) office said Wednesday that the mortuary science license of Cantrell Funeral Home has been summarily suspended. Inspectors found “deplorable, unsanitary conditions” and deemed the funeral home “an imminent threat to the public health and safety”.

Michigan could soon require certain people to work for their Medicaid benefits. 

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow says the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has chosen a site for an expanded health clinic in Traverse City.

The Michigan Democrat says the expansion will cover about 22,000 square feet and help alleviate crowding at the existing clinic. Services provided will include primary care, women's health, disease prevention and telehealth services.

A new facility will also offer mental health, physical therapy and home-based primary care services.

A state investigation into a Kalamazoo nursing home’s plans to remove some residents has uncovered further problems there.

The state investigated the Upjohn Community Care Center after a number of complaints that residents were being forced out to accommodate the facility’s downsizing plans.

That investigation found violated laws protecting nursing home residents from eviction. It also found additional violations for “substandard quality of care.”

Michigan pharmacists are backing federal legislation to remove “gag clauses” that prevent them from telling customers how they can get their prescription drugs cheaper.

Many employer-sponsored health plans and insurance companies use “gag clauses” to prevent pharmacists from telling a patient they would be charged more for a drug under the patient’s plan than if the patient paid out-of-pocket.

How do you know if nursing homes, home health aides, and assisted living communities are treating you or your loved ones properly, and what do you do if they're not?

We'll have that conversation on Stateside soon, but first we need your questions.

Blood lead levels in Flint children are declining, according to a new study.

A new report says the Detroit Medical System’s for-profit owner has broken its promise to care for the city’s poorest residents.

The DMC is owned by Dallas-based Tenet Health Care. Tenet pledged to continue the DMC’s historic commitment to “charity care” when it bought the hospital system in 2013.

But the Michigan Nurses Association report says federal government data show DMC charity care spending plunged 98% in three years, from nearly $23 million in 2013 to around $470,000 in 2016.

Starting this summer, Detroit will try a to combat its problem with childhood lead poisoning by heading to what’s usually the source: the homes where children live.

The number of flu cases reported over the last month across Michigan has been going down. But thousands continue to be reported weekly, and it's premature to say flu season is behind us, according to Dr. Eden Wells, the state's chief medical executive.

Wells said influenza is still widespread in Michigan, and that means more than half the state's counties are reporting recent flu outbreaks or increased flu activity. 

18 months, 25 deaths, and 615 hospitalizations later, state officials are beginning to express hope that a large hepatitis A outbreak is on the cusp of a decline.

Jay Fiedler is with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.  He says he can definitely see a plateau -- 10 to 15 new cases a week -- and no signs of another uptick.  

An employee at three southeast Michigan health care facilities may have unwittingly exposed more than 600 people to tuberculosis.

Those health care facilities are Saint Joseph-Mercy Ann Arbor and Livingston hospitals, and the South Lyon Senior Care and Rehab Center.

It’s believed the infected worker may have exposed patients and staff at all three places between May of last year and January of this year.

Tuberculosis is a potentially serious bacterial disease that usually attacks the lungs.

Last May, Michigan health officials authorized a way for people at risk of opioid overdose to get Naloxone directly from a registered pharmacy without a doctor's prescription.  The authorization also allows family members, friends and other people who may be able to help a person at risk of overdose to obtain Naloxone directly from a registered pharmacy.

Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication designed to reverse overdoses.

The state is looking to pharmacists to help combat elevated cases of hepatitis A in Michigan.

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to pharmacies across the state. It outlines how the virus is transmitted and lists symptoms associated with the disease. 

The letter also reminds pharmacists that there are preventative services they can provide that are covered under Michigan Medicaid, including prevention counseling and vaccinations.

The state says it’s taking new steps to fix Michigan’s serious lack of inpatient psychiatric care, in hopes of jump-starting a more comprehensive fix.

Michigan largely shut down its inpatient psychiatric facilities in the 1990s. Rather than picking up the slack, community hospitals cut back too.

That means there’s now a serious shortage of beds for people who need care for an acute psychiatric crisis.