Category: MiCare Champion Cast

Learn More About Munson Healthcare’s Ask-A-Nurse Program

MiCare Champion Cast, Member News

The MHA released a new episode of the MiCare Champion Cast focused on Munson Healthcare’s innovative Ask-A-Nurse program. The free, 24/7 call center is staffed year-round by registered nurses and offers easy access to health-related information and triage services.

The episode features Bonnie Kruszka, DNP, FNP-C, ENP-BC, RN, Chief Operating Officer, Munson Physician Network, Chief Advanced Practice Provider, Munson Healthcare; and Allison Passinault, RN, BSN, Ambulatory Nursing Manager, Ask-A-Nurse and Centralized Nurse Triage.

As leaders of the program, Kruszka and Passinault share more about how Ask-A-Nurse came to be, how it works and how it has helped Munson and non-Munson patients make more informed healthcare decisions.

“Access to healthcare continues to rise to the top of our community needs assessment year after year,” said Kruszka, who served as a founder of the program and continues to oversee operations. “Sometimes that means physical access, but it can also relate to travel times, limited transportation or not having internet service.”

Since its inception, the nurse line has handled more than 178,000 calls with an average speed to answer of 36 seconds. The program was awarded a 2024 Ludwig Community Benefit Award, which is presented to MHA-member organizations integrally involved in collaborative programs to improve the health and well-being of area residents.

In addition to helping patients, it offers a unique, remote job opportunity in nursing.

“One of the many things I enjoy about working in rural healthcare is that we really do feel like one big community,” said Passinault. “It’s hard work, it can be exhausting at times, but the reward is great. It’s a worthwhile career – even in a virtual environment.”

To learn more, visit the Munson Healthcare website or call (231) 935-0951. Patients can also look to the Munson Healthcare Virtual Urgent Care for non-life-threatening conditions.

The episode is available to stream on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud and YouTube. Those interested in learning more about the MiCare Champion Cast can contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

MHA Podcast Welcomes New Board Chair, Explores Healthcare Priorities in Michigan

Member News, MiCare Champion Cast
MHA Board Chair Julie Yaroch, DO, joined MHA CEO Brian Peters for an episode of the MiCare Champion Cast.

The MHA released a new episode of the MiCare Champion Cast kicking off the 2024-2025 program year discussing healthcare viability, workforce, cybersecurity, the upcoming election and more.

The episode, hosted by MHA CEO Brian Peters, features MHA Board Chair Julie Yaroch, DO, president of ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital. Listeners can expect to learn more about Yaroch’s journey becoming a healthcare leader, along with her aspirations for the new board and her longstanding passion for public health.

“Hospitals don’t have all the solutions,” noted Yaroch. “We can’t carry out all the directives, but we can bring people to the table. We all want to have healthy communities, and I do think we can achieve that goal, but we’ve got a lot of steps in front of us.”

Alongside Yaroch, officers of the 2024-2025 MHA Board of Trustees include Bill Manns, chair-elect; and Brittany Lavis, treasurer, among many others. With a record number of physician leaders serving, Peters and Yaroch spent time discussing healthcare priorities tied to workforce challenges and care delivery.

“In healthcare, we can’t always build it and people will come,” said Yaroch. “We have to really understand the patient population, the community and the directives of the providers. Without providers, we don’t have healthcare.”

Peters and Yaroch also spent time discussing key healthcare issues including mandated nurse staffing ratios, 340B, cybersecurity and more.

The episode is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud and YouTube. Questions or idea submissions for future MiCare Champion Cast episodes can be sent to Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

MHA Podcast Explores the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare

Member News, MiCare Champion Cast
MiCare Champion Cast graphic featuring an episode focused on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare

The MHA released a new episode of the MiCare Champion Cast exploring the role artificial intelligence (AI) plays in healthcare today and what it will look like in the future. The episode features Bruce Brandes, president of Care.ai and Monica Holmes, a PhD candidate in bioinformatics at the University of Michigan and current member of the MHA AI Task Force.

Early in the discussion, Brandes and Holmes highlighted the ways smart technologies have been used for years when it comes to data analysis, disease diagnosis, radiology, clinical documentation, language processing and more.

“For the first time – maybe in my career in healthcare – it’s obvious that the status quo is no longer an acceptable option,” said Brandes, who has over 30 years of experience in executive management and entrepreneurial thought leadership. “This is real – you need to understand it, you need to be intentional and deliberate and have a strategic plan.”

Both Brandes and Holmes emphasized throughout the episode that AI cannot replace the essential role humans play in healthcare. The goal, in most cases, is to optimize a more efficient workflow, improve healthcare quality, advance diagnostics and enhance medical research.

“On the academic side, it’s improving our ability to do better research, which leads to better insights and ultimately better health outcomes for patients when it’s translated over to the bedside,” said Holmes, who also serves on the board of Trinity Health’s Chelsea Hospital as chair of patient quality and safety.

Listeners can expect to learn more about how patients and providers are responding to AI tools (including virtual nursing) and get answers to commonly asked questions related to transparency, health equity, regulation and cybersecurity.

Care.ai, an MHA endorsed business partner, powers more human care through the first and only AI-enabled Smart Care Facility Operating Platform, which deploys smart sensors throughout care facilities. These sensors continuously and ambiently monitor clinical and operational workflows, learning from them to predict, prevent and protect; alerting and engaging care teams in real-time and improving common challenges such as fall prevention, pressure injury prevention, hand hygiene compliance, rounding adherence, automated documentation, virtual rounding, virtual sitting and more.

The episode is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud and YouTube. Those interested in learning more about Care.ai or the MHA EBP program can visit the business services webpage or contact Rob Wood at the MHA. Questions or idea submissions for future MiCare Champion Cast episodes can be sent to Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.

MHA Podcast Explores Benefits, Challenges of Virtual Care in Behavioral Health

Member News, MiCare Champion Cast

The MHA released a new episode of the MiCare Champion Cast exploring how clinicians are navigating virtual care in the behavioral health space.

The episode, released during Mental Health Awareness Month, features two providers from Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. Dr. Heide Rollings, M.D., child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship director and Dr. Lisa Vroman Stokes, Ph.D., manager of Forest Hills Clinic and child and adolescent project coordinator, joined to share insights about the advantages and challenges of telemedicine in the behavioral health setting.

“We know that for children and adolescents – especially in rural communities – it can be really wonderful to have [telehealth] as an option,” said Dr. Rollings, who also serves as an assistant clinical professor in the division of psychiatry at Michigan State University.

Flexibility plays a big part in the new normal. Although virtual options have helped improve access, both Rollings and Stokes noted that it can’t always substitute in-person screenings and treatment. In many cases, clinicians must communicate expectations to patients early on to develop effective treatment plans within virtual and hybrid formats.

“We’re finding ourselves in a position as providers of re-educating and acclimating our patients to how they can most effectively engage and benefit from treatment,” said Dr. Stokes, who also oversees predoctoral psychology interns at Pine Rest.

As demand for behavioral healthcare services increases, staffing shortages continue to impact the workforce. In an effort to grow the talent pipeline, Pine Rest offers a variety of educational opportunities to those entering the field. This includes:

As the third-largest non-profit mental health care provider in the country, Pine Rest offers a full continuum of care for mental health and substance use disorders in West Michigan. In addition to their outpatient locations and psychiatric urgent care, the health system is also building a pediatric behavioral health center slated to open in 2026. Pine Rest was one of six organizations to receive grant funding following a $50 million appropriation from the Michigan legislature as part of the 2023 State Budget, which aimed at increasing the number of inpatient beds available for pediatric psychiatric patients across the state.


The episode is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud and YouTube. Those interest in learning more about the services, Questions or idea submissions for future MiCare Champion Cast episodes can be sent to Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.