Health Care

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Reducing disparities in stroke patient outcomes starts with improving access to treatment

For over 20 years, the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute has worked to address and eliminate racial and health inequities across our health care systems – ensuring that all West Michigan residents have access to optimal health care without race being an impediment.

5 tips for keeping your New Year’s health resolutions

It's that time of year when many of us are setting one or more New Year’s resolutions related to our health. Unfortunately, most of these...

Noticing changes in your aging loved ones during the holidays

The holiday season is a joyous time. Families come together to share delicious meals and celebrate traditions. When family members live out of state...

3D printing is revolutionizing the medical industry

Additive manufacturing, which also is referred to as “manufacturing with 3D printing,” is a technology that was first introduced in the 1980s. The process...

Creating space for people with autism in the workplace

Even in times without a pandemic, people on the autism spectrum have a disproportionately more difficult time finding jobs than those not on the spectrum.

Don’t forget your sunglasses

It is officially springtime in Michigan and that means warmer weather, blooming flowers and more sunshine. While many people think of sunglasses simply as...

The health insurance exchange middlemen

The recently created Michigan health insurance marketplace allows people to purchase health insurance online. And if incomes are low enough (below 140 percent of the...

Lifelong burn awareness

Whether they’re accidentally grabbing a hot pan, letting a match burn too far or spilling steaming coffee, most people have experienced a minor first-degree...

The state of health care prices in West Michigan

Throughout my long career, I had the privilege of knowing and working with many fine hospital trustees. They are the people who set the...

Beat that 3 p.m. lull

We all know that afternoon feeling. It’s around 2 or 3 p.m., when you’ve already put in six hours of work. The end of...

How can we prevent ‘never events’?

Everything has risks. This is especially true in health care. For example, surgical errors occur more than frequently in the U.S. "Never events" Things that should never...

Integrity at nonprofits

What does integrity mean and what’s it worth? To a nonprofit organization, it should be everything. It’s tax season. Many of us wish we had...

Patient safety and what health care organizations are doing about it

The World Health Organization defines patient safety as the “absence of preventable harm to a patient during the process of health care.” A certain...

Science behind vaccination is strong

Controversy around the safety of vaccination is nothing new. Even as society has experienced irrefutable success in controlling and eradicating many diseases, and with...

Cultural competence: Have we arrived?

As the face of America darkens — and the West Michigan community becomes increasingly diverse — it’s important to step back and assess our...

Hospital excesses

I recently had occasion to be visiting a local hospital over a weekend and noticed something disturbing to an old “cost container” like myself....

Health care evolution: A new era of taxes

As the evolution of the new era of health care continues, it’s critical for us to evaluate the complexity of these new laws from...

A case of mistaken hospital billing

A little more honesty in hospital billing, please. Hospital bills can be very confusing to individuals. Think of the reaction by the Medicare program when it...

Angioplasty, anyone?

Soon there will be a rush for hospitals to enter the field of elective percutaneous coronary interventions. Most commonly referred to as coronary angioplasty,...

Who will pay for Obamacare?

Washington’s talk about Obamacare is loaded with hidden messages. They all amount to the same thing: let the other guy pay. Unfortunately, the other...