Tag: McLaren Health Care

2023 Ludwig Nominee: McLaren Resident Enhances Screenings for Domestic Violence

Member News

Since 1990, the MHA has honored member healthcare organizations working to enrich the overall welfare of their local communities through the Ludwig Community Benefit Award. This year, the MHA is excited to showcase all award nominees, highlighting the exceptional and creative work being accomplished by Michigan’s hospitals.

McLaren Oakland, part of McLaren Health Care and a 2023 nominee, is identifying and assisting victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) through enhanced screenings in the healthcare setting.

What started as an idea from Dr. Jordan Murray, chief resident of the McLaren Oakland Radiology Residency Program, has now become a regular practice at the Pontiac-based McLaren hospital. During mammogram appointments – one of the few instances where female patients are alone and away from their partner – healthcare providers are able to ask important questions about home safety and intervene as needed.

Those who experience IPV often suffer from battery, sexual violence, stalking and/or psychological harm at the hands of a former or current partner/spouse. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, one in four women report experiencing some form of IPV each year. Research also shows that Black women experience IPV at disproportionately higher rates.

McLaren Oakland hospital staff are focused on offering potential victims immediate help in a safe, private environment.

The initiative continues to grow as a collaborative effort between the Radiology Residency Program, the ancillary staff at McLaren Oakland (including mammography technicians) and members of HAVEN. Together, their teams are working to expand IPV screenings to other McLaren Health Care locations and create a blueprint for other hospital and healthcare practices to use.

“This project has added another facet to my job and gives me a sense of purpose, knowing that I can change women’s lives for the better,” said Megan Carrillo, DO, a resident at McLaren Oakland. “Dr. Murray’s passion to help others – with the understanding that the role of a physician is not only to treat, but to educate and keep community members safe – has inspired others to continue what he started.”

Members with questions about the program or the Ludwig Community Benefit Award should contact Erica Leyko at the MHA.

Crain’s Healthcare Leadership Summit Features MHA and Hospital Leaders

Member News

The Oct. 20 Crain’s 2022 Healthcare Leadership Summit featured speakers from the MHA and member hospitals in a series of panels on policy issues, labor force solutions and technology integration.

MHA EVP Laura Appel spoke on a policy panel that covered what role government can play in affordability, equity & improving care.

Rising costs, uncertain governmental policies, workforce challenges, behavioral health and equity issues have put hospitals and health systems in a compromising position. The summit aimed to connect industry experts to collaborate on solutions and share best practices to tackle these issues.

Laura Appel, executive vice president of government relations and public policy at the MHA, spoke on a panel that covered solutions to the labor challenges and measures that reduce pressure on healthcare institutions throughout the state.

“There are no quick, easy fixes,” Appel noted. “Public health is a way for us to get people in a better place in the aggregate – we cannot solve diabetes, for example, with healthcare alone. We’ve got to do the policy work that it takes to push back and reduce rates [of illness], as opposed to just stopping the upward trends.”

Leaders from MHA-member hospitals and health systems were also featured in breakout sessions that covered workforce challenges and technological solutions to improve efficiency and safety. Panelists included:

  • Kimberly Keaton Williams, vice president of talent acquisition and development and chief diversity officer at McLaren Health Care.
  • Shana Lewis, vice president of talent acquisition and workforce development programs at Trinity Health.
  • Lisa Ouellette, interim chief human resources officer at Corewell Health.
  • Robert Riney, president & CEO of Henry Ford Health.

The event also featured keynote speaker Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, vice president and chief health equity officer at CVS Health, who spoke about attainable solutions for addressing inequities and improving health outcomes for underserved, vulnerable communities.

Michigan Hospitals Invested $4.2 Billion in Community Programming Mid-pandemic to Improve Health, Well-being of Residents

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New report outlines hospital community health efforts in FY 2020

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) released today the Healthy Futures, Healthy Communities report that demonstrates a nearly $4.2 billion investment in community-based partnerships and programming in fiscal year (FY) 2020. Overall, hospitals invested more than $869 million in community and voluntary-based activities, from education and prevention services to community outreach, research and workforce development.

Data in the report shows investments made throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating Michigan’s hospitals and health systems continued offering a wide range of services and resources to their communities inside and outside of the traditional healthcare setting that improved the overall health, wellness and quality of life of residents.

“Even through some of the most challenging times in healthcare, hospitals and health systems haven’t wavered in their commitment to helping improve the overall health and wellness of the communities they serve,” said MHA CEO Brian Peters. “This report gives a clear and simple message: The impact of our healthcare workforce reaches far beyond the walls of patient rooms.”

In addition to community benefit services and programs, the report also highlights the contributions of hospitals when it comes to uncompensated care. In FY 2020, the unpaid costs of patient care at Michigan hospitals totaled more than $3.4 billion, which includes both financial assistance and bad debt at cost, as well as Medicaid and Medicare payment shortfalls, other means-tested government programs and subsidized health services.

“The programs​ and services that ​hospitals and health systems provide ​have ​a long-term and positive impact on community health,” said T. Anthony Denton, J.D., MHSA, senior vice president and chief operating officer of University of Michigan Hospitals, Health Centers and Medical Group and 2022-2023 Chair of the MHA Board of Trustees. “Patients and communities bec​ame more intertwined ​than ever as ​healthcare teams worked to provide care, compassion, financial and in-kind resources and knowledge throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to do so. Our role as anchor institutions ​is and has always been vital, providing an important uplift to those in need by way of various contributions which demonstrate our value as a major community asset. Through our many efforts, we are privileged to build bridges and connect communities to inform, elevate and empower individuals and families to mitigate social determinants and advance health, inspire hope and foster meaningful presence.”

Included in the report are examples of programs implemented by hospitals throughout Michigan that expand access to care and improve the health of vulnerable populations within their communities.

“McLaren, as a large health system, serves large urban settings and smaller rural communities, and the critical charge of being a community-integrated provider is having a sound, community-based system of care in place,” said Dr. Justin Klamerus, McLaren Health Care chief medical officer. “Increasingly, health care is moving toward care that existed outside of the hospital, both in treatment and preventive practices. It’s part of our responsibility to attune ourselves to the needs of our communities, especially in critical access areas, and doubly so during a time when many may still be hesitant to seek care in a hospital setting. Our facilities in Bay, Caro and the Thumb Region are true in the commitment to their communities and are really working to meet their needs.”

The full report and stories from hospitals across the state that exhibiting community benefit can be accessed online here.