MiCare Champion Cast

On this episode, Laura Appel, executive vice president of Government Relations and Public Policy at the MHA, discusses the upcoming general election, which will set the stage for critical healthcare decisions for Michigan and the nation in the years ahead. Appel explains how voting directly impacts healthcare and outlines details on this year’s candidates and ballot proposals. She also explores ex...

On this episode, MHA CEO Brian Peters is joined by T. Anthony Denton, J.D., MHSA, senior vice president and CEO of University of Michigan Health – Michigan Medicine, and 2022-2023 Chair of the MHA Board of Trustees. The two explore priorities for the new program year along with efforts underway to address workforce challenges, improve health equity and support sustainability. Denton has a vast his...

On this episode, Lucy Ciaramitaro of the MHA interviews Karen Cheeseman, Chief Executive Officer of Mackinac Straits Health System and Leah Heffernan, retail pharmacy director, to explain the 340B drug pricing program; specifically what it is, and how it benefits Michigan's rural communities. You can help protect 340B by heading to the MHA Legislative Action Center to contact your state lawmakers...

Lucy Ciaramitaro of the MHA is joined by Wright Lassiter, President and CEO of Henry Ford Health, to discuss the social determinants of health - what they are, why they matter and how understanding them can help us achieve better health outcomes. As President and CEO, Lassiter oversees the $7 billion integrated health system comprised of six hospitals, a health plan and a wide range of ambulatory,...

On this episode of the MiCare Champion Cast, Michael Leonard, MD, partner at Safe & Reliable Healthcare, shares his personal experience falling severely ill to COVID-19 in 2020. Leonard, who spent a total of 59 days in the hospital, gives a close-up look at what it was like as a tenured, perfectly healthy physician to become a critically ill COVID-19 patient at a time when information was limited...

On this episode series – which follows the theme of health equity – MHA CEO Brian Peters is joined by Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health (previously Spectrum Health) and 2021 chair of the MHA Board of Trustees. The two discuss health equity from a leadership lens, and why/how Spectrum Health has made health equity a priority as our healthcare workforce continues combatting CO...

Lucy Ciaramitaro of the MHA is joined by Dr. Renée Branch Canady, PhD, MPA, who serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MPHI; a Michigan-based and nationally engaged non-profit public health institute dedicated to advancing population health through public health innovation and collaboration. Dr. Canady gives us insight into not only health equity - but health inequity: what it is, why it matte...

The MiCare Champion Cast features interviews with healthcare policy experts in Michigan on key issues that impact healthcare and the health of communities. On this episode, Lucy Ciaramitaro of the MHA is joined by Dr. Lydia Watson, SVP, chief medical officer (CMO) of MidMichigan Health. The two discuss the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of a CMO, from managing the needs of frontline staff...

On this episode, MHA CEO Brian Peters is joined by Ed Ness, president and CEO of Munson Healthcare and the 2020-2021 chair of the MHA Board of Trustees. Their conversation explores the unprecedented challenges that Michigan hospitals faced amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the response of the healthcare community and what’s ahead for championing our state’s hospitals and healthcare providers. *Please no...

Approximately 90 women die each year in Michigan during pregnancy, at delivery, and within a year of giving birth, and 44 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are considered preventable. Today on the MiCare Champion Cast, we’re talking about what Michigan hospitals and physicians are doing to keep moms and babies healthy and safe. The episode features interviews with Frank Anderson, MD, MPH, of the...

Michigan's auto no-fault insurance system is under attack in a last-minute effort to dismantle it during lame duck – or the period after an election when outgoing officials are still in office. Today, we talk to Laura Appel, senior vice president and Chief Innovation Officer at the MHA about current auto no-fault benefits and how this lame duck attempt at reform could negatively impact Michigan re...

When we think of healthcare, most people think of medicine, nurses, physicians and hospitals. But one major component of modern healthcare is data. By collecting and securely sharing patient data, Michigan hospitals are working to improve efficiency and safety in healthcare for patients. Today, we talk to Tim Pletcher, executive director of the Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) and Jim L...

The 2018 midterm election is coming up on Nov. 6. Historically, voter turnout is lower during midterms, compared to presidential elections. However, there are several races in 2018 that will have a big on impact Michiganders’ health and access to care and the hospitals and providers who serve our communities. Today, we talk with Laura Appel, the MHA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Off...

Michigan hospitals are working in local communities to help people of all ages get healthy and stay healthy both in and out of the hospital. Two new reports – the Economic Impact of Healthcare in Michigan and the Community Benefit Report – demonstrate the substantial role healthcare plays in the well-being of both the state’s residents and its economy. Today, we talk about some of these efforts wi...

Last year, we talked about the impact of the opioid crisis in Michigan and what we can do to help. Today, we’re revisiting this important topic as we talk about some of the new steps being taken to help prevent opioid abuse and overuse with Paige Fults, director, advocacy, Michigan Health & Hospital Association; Kim Gaedeke, acting deputy director, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs; a...

We’re in the middle of a serious flu season in Michigan, so we’re talking about the importance of the flu shot and other vaccines. Veronica McNally of Oakland County, founder of the Franny Strong Foundation, shares her family’s story. Her infant daughter, Francesca Marie, lost her life to pertussis, or whooping cough, and she now works to educate parents about the importance and safety of vaccines...

Patients and families need reliable and timely information about the quality of care at their local hospital, so they can make better healthcare decisions. In this episode, we talk to Tina Freese Decker, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Spectrum Health; MHA CEO Brian Peters; and Sam Watson, Senior Vice President, Patient Safety & Quality, MHA Keystone Center, about why transparen...

In the seventh episode of our series, we get the patient and caregiver perspective on sepsis, the body’s life-threatening response to infection. Sepsis kills hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, and it’s something Michigan hospitals are working hard to combat. In this episode, we talk to Rebecca Thomas of Harrison Township; Corine Pope, Patient Safety & Quality Coordinator, MHA Keystone...

In the sixth episode of our series, we discuss staffing ratios and efforts to legislate them from Lansing. Chris Mitchell, senior vice president of advocacy at the MHA, shares an update on the current proposals in Lansing, and Joyce Young, regional chief nursing officer for Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, shares how individual hospitals handle staffing decisions.

In the fifth episode of our series, we learn about advocacy from Kate Steele, an auto accident survivor and advocate; Stephanie Helton, who leads communications & grassroots advocacy at Trinity Health; and Rep. Daniela Garcia (R-Holland). They share their experiences and advice for advocates.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has had a tremendous positive impact on people in Michigan. Nearly 1 million Michiganders now have healthcare coverage thanks to the ACA, which could potentially be lost if efforts to repeal and replace the law are successful. In the fourth episode of our series, we talk to Dizzy Warren, executive director of Enroll Michigan, and Ruthanne Sudderth,...

In the third episode of our series, we learn about health equity from Ewa Panetta, manager of Patient Safety & Quality at the MHA Keystone Center, and Jacqueline Thomas-Hall, Beaumont Health’s system director of Diversity and Inclusion. Learn what hospitals are doing and how you can get involved at micarematters.org/take-action.

We covered Michigan’s auto no-fault insurance system in the first episode of our series, and there have been several developments since then. We spoke again to Laura Appel, the MHA’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer, to talk about the latest proposal that would drastically change Michigan’s auto no-fault law, HB 5013. To learn more and take action, visit https://micarematters.org...

In the second episode of our series, we talk to Rami Khoury, MD, FACEP, Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at Henry Ford Allegiance Health, and Paige Fults, Director of Advocacy at the MHA, about the impact of the opioid crisis in Michigan and what we can do to help.

In the first episode of our series, Laura Appel, the MHA’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer, explains the history of Michigan’s auto no-fault insurance law and what is being considered to reform the system.