Erin Spanier

The Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) at the University of Michigan, backbone organization to the Washtenaw Health Initiative (WHI), has recently received grants from the federal Administration for Community Living and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation to expand and enhance a local collaborative that provides medically tailored meals, and referrals to home … Read more

more than five dozen individuals attended the WHI’s 10th anniversary Stakeholders Meeting, which was a time to reflect on the focus of the WHI, what has been accomplished by WHI volunteers over the years, AND the work that’s left to do.  HISTORY Norman Herbert, founding co-chair of the WHI, kicked things off by discussing the … Read more

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has pledged to provide a $9 million Medicaid match to launch a new Health Equity Project in five Michigan counties.   The Health Equity Project aims to help these counties reduce health disparities associated with pressing social needs such as housing instability, food insecurity, transportation, health system … Read more

The Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), backbone to the Washtenaw Health initiative, has hired Erin Horne as community engement program manager. Horne will provide strategic support on racial health care equity and justice for the WHI and will work closely with Vital Seniors and the Healthy Aging Collaborative to create enduring outcomes for … Read more

Tendai Thomas, MD, FACP, is a board-certified internal medicine physician at IHA and associate division head of internal medicine, leading quality initiatives. She chairs IHA’s recently created Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council.  Dr. Thomas  earned her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine, completed  her internal medicine residency at St. Joseph Mercy … Read more

You asked. We listened.  After the March stakeholders meeting, members asked for a client-facing document that could be used to describe American Rescue Plan benefits, and how to access them. The American Rescue Plan funds dozens of programs that will help people and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include cash benefits, food assistance programs, … Read more

During the March 15 stakeholder’s meeting, Ruth Kraut, deputy health officer of the Washtenaw County Health Department, shared information about the department’s numerous vaccination outreach programs.  The Washtenaw County Health Department has established mass vaccination sites in Ypsilanti, in partnership with St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, and in Chelsea, in partnership with St. Joseph Mercy … Read more

The American Rescue Plan (ARP), signed into law this March, will dramatically increase the accessibility and affordability of health care for millions of Americans. Four out of five enrollees in Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans will now be able to find a plan for less than $10 per month, and 50 percent of enrollees will … Read more

In March, WHI Communications Committee Co-Chair Maria Alfonso spoke with Aubrey Patino, executive director of Avalon Housing, to discuss Aubrey’s passion for housing, the health challenges that keep her up at night, and her many sources of inspiration. Q. What originally inspired your passion for housing?  Patino. I started out as a homeless outreach worker … Read more

For the past seven Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace open enrollment periods–times when individuals across the nation can purchase insurance on the ACA exchange–the WHI has helped coordinate community outreach and enrollment efforts with members of its Medicaid and Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment (MMOE) work group.  We’re pleased to share results from the eighth … Read more