Dozens of detailed directories have emerged over the last several weeks as Washtenaw County leaders work tirelessly to respond to the threat of COVID-19 and to help residents navigate the health, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic. Below, we’ve listed just a few of the directories that have come to our attention. Some have … Read more
An interview with Norman Herbert, founding co-chair of the WHI, on the origins and impact of the organization, the health policies and practices that trouble him, and Washtenaw’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Q. What inspired your passion for community health? Herbert. I served on the board of Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation for nine years … Read more
Deana Smith joined the Center for Health and Research Transformation, backbone organization to the Washtenaw Health Initiative, last month. For the Washtenaw Health Initiative, Deana will be supporting the Steering Committee, organizing quarterly stakeholder meetings, and acting as a liaison between WHI work groups and leaders. She will also be supporting the WHI’s Senior Services … Read more
By Amanda Sears, Grant Manager, Area Agency on Aging 1B Reimagine Caregiving is an initiative designed to improve Washtenaw County’s caregiver support system while enhancing outcomes for family caregivers and older adults. In 2019, with support from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the Area Agency on Aging … Read more
Over the course of 2019, the Washtenaw Health Initiative began mapping out a strategy for 2020 and beyond. To accomplish this, the Washtenaw Health Initiative Officers Committee and staff from the WHI’s backbone organization, the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), engaged stakeholders, member organizations, and funders in a series of conversations about the … Read more
After eight years of service to the Washtenaw Health Initiative–convening community partners to address local health needs and contributing to dozens of research and action plans–Carrie Rheingans will step down on February 14 to work with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on important substance use related work. Rheingans will serve as project … Read more
To improve the health of Washtenaw County’s most vulnerable populations, we need to provide access to high quality health care, but also to an array of supportive services that go beyond health care to address safe and affordable housing, healthy foods, mental health counseling, substance use recovery support, education, case management, and more. This is … Read more
The seventh Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Period (OE7) wrapped up on December 15. Washtenaw Health Initiative outreach activities during this period included training 20 student volunteers from the University of Michigan on the Healthy Michigan Plan, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and the Affordable Care Act so they could distribute flyers and staff enrollment events … Read more
The September 2019 WHI Stakeholders Meeting focused on Michigan health policy and the unified community health needs assessment conducted by Washtenaw County’s non-profit hospitals. Speakers included Marianne Udow-Phillips, founding executive director of CHRT, Nicole Adelman, clinical and SUD services director at the Community Mental Health Partnership of Southeast Michigan, and Elisabeth Vanderpool, director of community … Read more
On October 11, three federal judges issued nationwide injunctions that will temporarily block implementation of the “public charge” rule that had been scheduled to take effect on October 15. The rule would have allowed immigration officials to consider the use of public benefits–including food stamps, housing subsidies, and Medicaid–as a negative factor in evaluating the … Read more