Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/category/news/health/page/2/)
TOBACCO LEGISLATION: Pending legislation would toughen restrictions on flavored tobacco products and vapes, including allowing counties to adopt restrictions that are tougher than the state’s. We talk to a sponsor from Northville Township and the Michigan Municipal League. By Sophia Ceru. FOR DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
DESECRATED CEDARS: Less than 2 miles past the Mackinac Bridge are dozens of cedars stripped of bark and left to die in the Hiawatha National Forest. An elder of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians explains the cultural significance to the Anishinaabe of cedar, or giizhik, which also has important wetlands benefits.The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has written in protection for cedars in its tribal code. By Daniel Schoenherr. FOR BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, IRON MOUNTAIN, ST. IGNACE, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY AND ALL POINTS.
DIAPERS: Michigan’s 13 nonprofit diaper banks are trying to fill the need of low-income families but say they need more resources. We talk to the Capital Area Diaper Bank and Metropolitan Detroit Diaper Bank. By Elijah Taub. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
RURAL PUBLIC HEALTH. Public health agencies and their employee in rural areas have been facing lower public trust in their work since the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk to the Michigan Association for Local Public Health, the district director whose agency covers Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Isabella, Osceola and Roscommon counties, and the former health officer for Ingham and Kalamazoo counties. Public health departments in the UP and Northern Lower Peninsula are funding TV and social media campaigns that portray their staff as everyday members of the community. Includes Ottawa County reference. By Alex Walters. FOR CLARE, GLADWIN, BIG RAPIDS, MARQUETTE, CADILLAC, BAY MILLS, IRON MOUNTAIN, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, LANSING CITY PULSE PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, GREENVILLE, CHEBOYGAN, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, WKTV, MONTMORENCY, ALCONA, ALPENA AND ALL POINTS.
DENTAL: For the 2024-25 school year, the Department of Health and Human Services plans to expand statewide a pilot program that gives free dental examinations to children entering kindergarten. The Whitmer administration proposes to spend $4 million next year, but advocates say that’s not enough. The Michigan Oral Health Coalition, Michigan Association for Local Public Health and Michigan Dental Association explain. Includes references to Petoskey, Detroit and Grand Traverse, Chippewa, Oakland, Ottawa, Marquette, Leelanau, Mason, Emmet and Cheboygan counties. By Theo Scheer. FOR PETOSKEY, DETROIT, LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY, CHEBOYGAN, SAULT STE. MARIE, LUDINGTON, HARBOR SPRINGS AND ALL POINTS.
SCHOOL MEALS: School districts are adapting to the mandate to offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students, regardless of income. The state is paying for the initiative. They say hungry students don’t learn well, and that students who can’t afford to pay for meals feel stigmatized. We talk to school lunch experts in Marquette, Oakland County and Traverse City. By Alex Walters. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, DETROIT, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.
NURSES BURNOUT: Nearly 94% of the state’s registered nurses surveyed report burnout from their jobs, including heavy workloads, long hours and unfavorable working conditions, according to a U-M study. Almost 10% have thought about self-harm. We learn more from a co-author of the study, a Jackson County public health official, the Sparrow Hospital chief nursing officer and an Oakland University nursing program director. By Owen McCarthy. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL AND ALL POINTS.
ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVES: Some lawmakers, including ones from Livonia and Holt, are again pushing legislation to allow pharmacists to sell hormonal contraceptives without a prescription. Advocates say that would expand women’s access to reproductive health care. The Michigan Health & Hospital Association expresses concerns about how the bill is worded. By Sophia Ceru. FOR DETROIT, CORP! GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
SEPTIC: Environmental groups are again pushing the Legislature to adopt a statewide sanitary code that would include mandatory inspections of septic systems. Leaking systems can contaminate groundwater, lakes and rivers, causing health problems and deterring water-related recreation. Sponsors include lawmakers from East Grand Rapids, Troy, Detroit, Holt, Walker, St. Joseph and Livonia. We talk to the Michigan Environmental Council, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and a Montmorency County homeowner with a septic tank. By Elijah Taub. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, MONTMORENCY, ALPENA, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, CHEBOYGAN, DETROIT, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, FOWLERVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS AND ALL POINTS.
A lawmaker from Erie wants to allow baby drop boxes at fire stations to speed the process of adoption of unwanted newborns who are left there anonymously. Neighboring Ohio and Indiana already have baby drop box laws. Cosponsors include lawmakers from Osseo, Milford, Lake Odessa, Clare and Shelby Township. The Michigan Health and Hospital Association opposes the bill. By Sophia Ceru. FOR MONROE, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, HILLSDALE, DETROIT, CLARE COUNTY, IONIA, GREENVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LUDINGTON, LAKE COUNTY, COLDWATER AND ALL POINTS.