MHA Chief Medical Officer Expresses Support for AAP Immunization Schedule

The following statement can be attributed to Gary Roth, DO, MBA, FACOS, FCCM, FACS, chief medical officer of the MHA. 

The MHA supports the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) evidence-based 2026 immunization schedule and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ standing guidance for adherence to this schedule. The AAP schedule recommends vaccination against 18 diseases based on decades of rigorous scientific research and clinical consensus.

This position reflects input from hospital chief medical officers and chief nursing officers across the state, whose extensive expertise caring for vaccine-preventable illnesses reinforces our commitment to science-based care that protects Michigan’s children and families.

Vaccines remain among medicine’s most effective tools to keep people healthy and out of the hospital with severe illness. We encourage Michigan families to speak with their medical provider with questions about immunizations.

MHA Webinar Tying Person and Family Engagement to Culture and Performance

The MHA is hosting the webinar Tying Person and Family Engagement (PFE) to Culture and Performance from noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 20. The webinar will outline a process for structuring value-based employee competencies that are foundational to delivering patient-centered care, programs that uniformly train and support knowledge and application of PFE principles across the system and examples of how to establish clear expectations of behaviors and actions that support a patient-centered culture.

Pandemic recovery happened at many levels, but public perception of hospital quality and experience is declining, as shown through research by the Beryl Institute. Now is the time to re-establish programs and policies that place patients and their caregivers at the heart of planning and decision-making, empowering them to actively participate in their care.

The webinar will also highlight the MHA Person & Family Engagement Roadmap, which features research and tools supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care. These resources are proven to re-engage patients and improve PFE.

Registration is free of charge for MHA member organizations. Chief nurse and medical officers, patient experience, safety & quality, social work and human resources professionals are encouraged to register.

Members with questions about the webinar or MHA Person & Family Engagement Roadmap may contact Erin Steward at the MHA.