Fenton to contract with Medstar for emergency medical services
FENTON, MI – The city of Fenton will soon be receiving ambulance services from a new agency. City officials cited a nationwide crisis for emergency medical services for STAT EMS ending its relationship with Fenton. Fenton joins several other municipalities across Genesee County that have contracted EMS services with Medstar. In March, 11 communities entered into service agreements with Medstar, including Atlas Township, Davison, Davison Township, Fenton Township, Forest Township, Richfield Township, Mundy Township, Gaines Township, and the villages of Gaines, Goodrich, and Otisville. Those communities joined more than 70 others across the state in contracting for EMS services.
mlive.comJackson hospital getting new name as part of Henry Ford corporate rebrand
JACKSON, MI – Jackson’s hospital is getting a new name as part of a Henry Ford Health System rebrand. Henry Ford Allegiance Health will become Henry Ford Jackson Hospital to better align itself with its parent company’s location-based names, such as Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, said Emily Moorhead, the Jackson hospital’s interim president. Related: Interim president picked for Henry Ford Allegiance HealthThis change comes after Henry Ford Health System announced in March it was undertaking a rebrand by dropping the word system from its name to emphasize the word health in its facilities, officials said. The hospital then partnered with Henry Ford Health in 2016, and adopted the name Henry Ford Allegiance Health. Henry Ford Health employs more than 33,000 people, including nearly 6,000 physicians and researchers from the Henry Ford Medical Group, Henry Ford Physician Network and Jackson Health Network, officials said.
mlive.comHenry Ford Health System surgeon starts program to mentor Detroit area youth
Henry Ford Health Systems’ Vice Chair of Surgery and System Director of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Ikenna Okereke, immigrated to Detroit from Nigeria in middle school. He moved away but always remembered Detroit as the place that gave his family a chance. Now that Okereke has returned, he wants to provide Detroit area youth with an opportunity too.
An essential option for the immunocompromised to fight COVID
If you couldn’t receive the vaccine because of an allergy or other reaction, or your immune system is severely compromised because, for example, you’ve had a transplant or you’re on chemotherapy. The vaccine isn’t going to be as protective.
Henry Ford Allegiance Health president/CEO has left her job, officials say
JACKSON, MI – Henry Ford Allegiance Health President/CEO Paula Autry is no longer working for the health system, officials said. Henry Ford Health System has not disclosed a reason for Autry’s departure from the company at this time, only making a statement confirming she has left. “We can confirm that Paula Autry is no longer with Henry Ford Health System,” said Brenda Craig, Henry Ford Health System vice president of integrated communications. “We thank Paula for her service to our communities and wish her well.”Autry became president/CEO of Henry Ford Allegiance Health in 2019. No information was provided on who will take over that role now.
mlive.comLocal Ukrainian Americans watch and worry as Russia Threat looms
Tensions continue to mount on the Russia-Ukraine border as an estimated 100,000 Russian troops are being staged for what some believe could be an imminent invasion. Every Ukrainian American has a different story of why mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and grandfathers left a land they loved.
49 things Henry Ford Health leaders said about current COVID situation in Michigan
Henry Ford Hospital officials spoke Thursday about COVID in Michigan, providing an update on the rapid spread of omicron and revealing that there are both hundreds of patients hospitalized and hundreds of employees out due to the virus.
Feds sending staffing assistance to fifth Michigan hospital during latest case surge
A fifth Michigan hospital is to receive federal staffing assistance as Michigan coronavirus cases soar and hospitalizations again rise. RELATED: Feds sending teams to Grand Rapids, Dearborn to support over-burdened hospital staff amid COVID surgeThe teams have been in Dearborn, Grand Rapids and Saginaw since November. Early this week, Henry Ford Health System reported it had 480 COVID-19 patients in all of its hospitals. “We have been facing this deadly virus for nearly two years and our health care workers have been working tirelessly on the frontlines through it all,” Gov. Elizabeth Hertel, state health department director, repeated the same, adding people should maintain distance from others and stay home as omicron quickly spreads and case rates and hospitalizations accelerate.
mlive.comMonoclonal antibodies even more limited as omicron overtakes delta; new antiviral pills also scarce
Henry Ford Health System, based in Detroit, on Tuesday was down to its final 30 doses of monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-produced molecules acting as substitute antibodies and distributed intravenously at hospitals and medical and infusion centers and sometimes, in homes. Related: ‘Very minimal’ supply of COVID-19 treatment pills arrive in MichiganCriteria for their use is actually much stricter than for monoclonal antibodies, Muma said. “This will be an adjunct or essentially an equivalent treatment to monoclonal antibodies,” Muma said. Some who are reluctant to get COVID shots are willing to receive monoclonal antibodies, Muma said.
mlive.comHenry Ford Health System to buy wind, solar energy from DTE Energy
A major metro Detroit hospital system will step toward cutting its greenhouse gas emissions from power use in a new deal to buy renewable energy from DTE Energy. Henry Ford Health System officials this week announced an agreement with the power company to buy about 10 percent of its future electricity – 19,000 megawatt hours – specifically from wind and solar energy sources starting in 2023. The plan is for the hospital network to increase how much of its power comes from renewable sources incrementally to 100 percent by 2029.
mlive.comMichigan sets pandemic record for COVID hospitalizations; stretched staffs feel defeated, disheartened
There are record numbers of COVID-19 patients filling their units. Henry Ford Health System, which operates five Michigan hospitals, was treating 420 COVID-19 patients, as of Friday, and another 30 patients with COVID-19 were waiting to be accepted. Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township was seeing the highest number of COVID-19 patients with 135. As of Monday, Sparrow had broken its pandemic record with 130 COVID-19 patients. Like many others, the hospital system is “very red,” the chief medical officer said in an update this week.
mlive.comMichigan hospitals in ‘unchartered territory’ as latest COVID surge drags on
In addition to working through the personnel shortages plaguing most hospitals nationwide, the West Michigan health system has also struggled through supply shortages. Last month, Henry Ford Health System reported temporarily closing 120 hospital beds throughout its hospitals to better focus staffing resources. Dr. Elmouchi estimates about 80% of Spectrum’s COVID patients are not vaccinated, and that rate is about 90% in the ICU. On average, vaccinated COVID hospitalizations are patients in their 70s with four comorbidities, compared to the non-vaccinated, which are on average in their 50s with two comorbidities. In previous COVID surges, hospital leaders have gone public with their concerns -- sort of a sounding of the alarm.
mlive.com400 employees resign, while 99% comply with Henry Ford Health System’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Approximately 99% of Henry Ford Health System’s employees have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 or been approved for a medical/religious exemption, the company announced Tuesday, Oct. 5. Bob Riney, president of healthcare operations for the hospital system, said more than 30,000 employees have been vaccinated and continue to work for the health system. “We wish it was zero but it’s a very small percentage.”The health system said all exemption applications were reviewed by an “objective, multi-disciplinary” group. Henry Ford was the first health system in the state to announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees. By mid-September, eight of the state’s major hospital systems had adopted some type of vaccine mandate, while four systems were only strongly encouraging their employees to get vaccinated.
mlive.comBeaumont Health says emergency rooms are nearly full, has to close beds due to staff shortages
Beaumont Health, based in Southfield, is reporting its 10 emergency departments are nearly full, a problem intensified by staffing shortages and serious COVID-19 illness among people who are unvaccinated. The health system, with eight hospitals and 155 outpatient locations, is encouraging patients with nonemergent medical conditions to visit physician offices or urgent care sites. Most patients now populating Beaumont’s emergency departments have medical conditions and concerns other than COVID-19. Add in staffing shortages and “you have a perfect storm.”Earlier this week, Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System announced it too had to close beds at its five hospitals, mostly in Jackson and Detroit, because of staffing shortages. To ease the burden on emergency rooms, Beaumont urges patients to consider what justifies a visit and what does not.
mlive.comMichigan State University, Henry Ford Health join forces to bolster cancer, health care research
DETROIT - Henry Ford Health System and Michigan State University have partnered since January to create new health care and research initiatives. Read more: Health care inequities focus of Michigan State University, Henry Ford Health System partnershipThe Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences also released a new brand logo. Committing to provide education to a diverse pool of health care providers and ensuring equitable health care access to “historically disenfranchised and marginalized populations.”The Health Alliance Plan and MSU Health Care plans are collaborating to provide zero-dollar premium HMO and PPO plans to about 100,000 Medicare-eligible MSU alumni. Henry Ford Health hiring Dr. Richard Leach, a national expert on in-vitro fertilization and an MSU researcher, as the Chair of the health system’s Department of Women’s Health Services. Henry Ford Health screening MSU athletes for COVID-19 complications, including the heart-based conditions myocarditis and pericarditis.
mlive.comStaff shortages result in fewer beds available at Henry Ford Allegiance Health
JACKSON, MI - Staff shortages have led to bed closures across Henry Ford Health System’s five hospitals, mostly in Jackson and Detroit. There are currently 18 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Henry Ford Allegiance Health, according to the health system’s database. To curb these delays, Henry Ford Health System is working with staffing agencies to bolster staff to address current needs, he said. These shortages make it imperative that patients at Henry Ford Allegiance Health and elsewhere in the health system receive their COVID-19 vaccinations, Munkarah said. About 79% of those hospitalized across the Henry Ford Health System are unvaccinated, with another 11% between their first and second doses, he said.
mlive.comHospital workers withdraw lawsuit filed against Henry Ford Health System over vaccine mandate
DETROIT – Lawyers for 51 employees have voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit filed just this week against Henry Ford Health System for its employee COVID-19 vaccine policy. Earlier this week, the health system said it remained confident vaccination is the most powerful available tool against the pandemic and declined to comment on the pending litigation. Henry Ford Health System, a private employer, mandated in late June that its employees, about 33,000 of them, receive COVID-19 shots by Friday. Several other Michigan health systems or hospitals have since followed suit. Earlier this year, a federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit filed against Houston Methodist Hospital by employees who challenged its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
mlive.comEmployees suing Henry Ford Health System over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate
DETROIT – Fifty-one hospital workers, most of them registered nurses, have sued Henry Ford Health System, arguing it is unconstitutional to require staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19. When asked for comment, a Henry Ford Health System spokesperson sent the following statement: “We remain confident that vaccination is the most powerful tool we all have against the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond that, we cannot comment on pending litigation.”In late June, Henry Ford, which employs about 33,000 people, became the first health system in the state to mandate vaccines for workers. RELATED: More Michigan hospitals adopt COVID-19 vaccine mandatesHenry Ford employees who are not compliant by Friday will be suspended. Earlier this year, a federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit filed against Houston Methodist Hospital by employees who challenged its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
mlive.comU.S. begins preparing to deliver COVID booster shots; immunocompromised urged not to wait
The booster shots will have to be administered starting eight months after a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines for most people, officials said. For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability. With that data in hand, they promise tp keep the public informed with a timely plan for J&J booster shots as well. The hospital system said it would be formalizing a plan in the coming weeks to administer booster shots to the general population. Henry Ford has seen a small number of breakthrough infections involving immunocompromised patients or the frail elderly.
arabamericannews.comDoctors say vaccine for children 5-11 could be available by fall, but timeline is uncertain
It is clear children younger than 12 will be returning to school this and next month without a COVID-19 vaccine. It is unclear when families and pediatricians can expect a vaccine will be available for the Michigan’s youngest residents. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only of three available vaccines presently authorized for U.S. children. Moderna, now administered to people 18 and older, also is evaluating the safety and efficacy of a vaccine for children younger than 12. Nationally, cases among children have been on the rise since July, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
mlive.comMichigan Senate GOP leader will skip Mackinac policy conference over vaccine requirement
LANSING, MI — Michigan’s top ranking Republican lawmaker will not be attending an annual policy conference on Mackinac Island over its vaccine policy. “It appears the Chamber cowed to political science rather than embrace actual science,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said Tuesday in response to the announcement that vaccinations will be required to attend the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference in September. In a statement Tuesday, the Detroit Regional Chamber confirmed its vaccine policy that participants in this year’s annual conference must be vaccinated. “Our COVID-19 immunity should be the sum of those who choose to get shots PLUS those who have been infected and developed natural immunity. There should be no discrimination or coercion of those with natural immunity.
mlive.comMore Michigan hospitals adopt employee COVID vaccine mandates
Beaumont Health became the latest Michigan health system to adopt a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees Wednesday, July 29. That’s closer to the policies previously announced by Henry Ford Health System and Trinity Health, which set deadlines of Sept. 10 and Sept. 21, respectively. “We have a duty to protect our patients and our staff,” said Beaumont Health CEO John Fox in a prepared statement. Related: Protesters of Trinity Health’s coronavirus vaccine mandate line street outside hospitalAs of Tuesday, July 27, more than 5.1 million Michigan residents have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. To find a vaccine near you, visit Michigan’s COVID-19 vaccine website or go to VaccineFinder.org.
mlive.comHospitals grapple with vaccinating remaining employees, as some in Michigan consider mandates
About 70% of the 33,000 hospital employees at Henry Ford Health System have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Last weekend, hundreds of people protested the vaccine policy outside the system’s various hospitals, according to a report from The Detroit Free Press. Under Henry Ford’s vaccine policy, employees will need to get both shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or a single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, before Sept. 10. As of Thursday, July 22, Sparrow had about 71% of its employees vaccinated. Vaccines are widely available in Michigan and health officials standby their safety and effectiveness at preventing serious illness from coronavirus.
mlive.comCOVID-19 vaccine will be ‘condition of employment’ for Henry Ford Health System employees
Employees and volunteers who work for Henry Ford Health System will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Sept. 10 or face termination, the organization’s chief operating officer said Tuesday. “Vaccination will be a condition of employment in the same way that we have with the annual flu shot,” Bob Riney, Henry Ford’s president of healthcare operations and chief operating officer, said at a press briefing. “It has to be something where you’ve demonstrated (an objection) to other types of vaccines,” Cunningham said. “So we’re following the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other professional medical societies that say it’s really best to get the vaccine,” Cunningham said. Earlier this month a federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit filed against Houston Methodist Hospital by employees who challenged its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
mlive.comHenry Ford Health System to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for workers
Henry Ford Health System will become the first Michigan health system to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for its workforce, the hospital system announced this morning. “We acknowledge the magnitude of this decision and we did not make it lightly,” President and CEO Wright Lassiter III said in the press release. The health system has about 33,000 employees, and about 68% have been vaccinated so far. Still, mandating the COVID-19 vaccine has been more controversial for workers because it’s still under emergency use authorization. However, earlier this month a federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit filed against Houston Methodist Hospital by employees who challenged its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
mlive.comHenry Ford, 11 Other Health Systems Pledge To Add $1 Billion In Spending On Small Businesses Affected By COVID-19
Henry Ford Health System and 11 other health systems have committed a joint $1 billion pledge to local, minority, women-owned, and other small businesses and enterprises.
detroit.cbslocal.comA list of COVID-19 vaccine providers in Wayne County
Here is a list of providers and some information on them:Beaumont HealthPatients with an active myBeaumontChart account are invited to save their spot for a COVID-19 vaccine through Beaumont’s Save My Shot program. CVSCVS is administering the COVID-19 vaccine by appointment only in select stores, based on local eligibility guidelines. This clinic is a collaboration between the state, Wayne County, Henry Ford Health System, Meijer and FEMA. Garden City HospitalCOVID-19 vaccine appointments are based on vaccine availability. For more information about how community-based vaccination events are organized, check with the Wayne County Health Department.
arabamericannews.comRiney named chairman of Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation
The Parade Company recently announced Grosse Pointe Farms resident Robert G. Riney, president of healthcare operations and chief operating officer of Henry Ford Health System, as its new chairman of the board of directors for the Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation. Unveiled in 2018, Henry Ford Health System’s float, “Path to Wellness,” is now one of the remarkable floats in America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Gardner-White. Henry Ford Health System debuted its first float in 2015 to celebrate its 100-year anniversary. Riney was appointed chief operating officer of Henry Ford Health System in 2003 and president of healthcare operations/COO in 2017. His current board and community roles include board member, Nemours Foundation; board member, past chair, Michigan Health & Hospital Association; board member, Detroit Zoological Society; board member, M1 Rail Transit Authority; chairman, board of directors, The Parade Company; and board member, Hudson-Webber Foundation.
grossepointenews.comHealth care inequities focus of Michigan State University, Henry Ford Health System partnership
EAST LANSING, MI — Michigan State University and Henry Ford Health System have formalized a 30-year partnership aimed to make Michigan a leader in providing access to health care for all residents. Both institutions are committed to aligning efforts across departments and programs to achieve critical health care and educational goals, while addressing social issues that impact health outcomes for patients, according to a Henry Ford Health System news release. “Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Henry Ford Health System and Michigan State University recognized that collaboration could make a critical impact on health care in our state and across the country,” said Wright L. Lassiter, Henry Ford Health System president/CEO. “It is in the full integration of research, education, health and health care that the necessary transformation of care can happen. The Henry Ford Cancer Institute has a goal of getting a National Cancer Institute designation within five to seven years, according to Adnan Munkarah, executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Henry Ford Health System.
mlive.comHenry Ford Cancer Institute Set To Begin Patient Care At Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion
(CBS DETROIT) – The Henry Ford Cancer Institute at Henry Ford Health System will open the doors of the new Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion on Jan. 20, 2021. About Henry Ford Cancer Institute:The Henry Ford Cancer Institute is one of the largest cancer programs in Michigan, providing care at five hospitals, 11 outpatient facilities and hundreds of aligned doctor’s offices throughout southeast and southcentral Michigan. About Henry Ford Health System:Founded in 1915 by Henry Ford himself, Henry Ford Health System is a non-profit, integrated health system committed to improving people’s lives through excellence in the science and art of healthcare and healing. Henry Ford Health System consists of six hospitals including Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit; Henry Ford Macomb Hospitals; Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital; Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital; Henry Ford Allegiance in Jackson, MI; and Henry Ford Kingswood Hospital – an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Henry Ford Health System also includes Henry Ford Medical Group; Henry Ford Physician Network; more than 250 outpatient facilities; Henry Ford Pharmacy; Henry Ford OptimEyes; and other healthcare services.
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