FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 9, 2020

Contact: [email protected]

Governor Whitmer Recognizes Front Line Nurse Practitioners This Week

LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed November 8-14th as Nurse Practitioner Week in Michigan. Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are a vital part of Michigan’s health care system and have provided trusted heath care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to thank nurse practitioners across the state for providing high-quality care to their patients both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor Whitmer. “Our nurse Practitioners have worked tirelessly to diagnose and treat patients with COVID-19 and to combat community spread nationwide. We owe it to them and to all of our health care heroes on the front lines to continue to do our part of fight COVID-19. That means wearing a mask, practicing safe physical distancing, and washing hands frequently.”

NPs focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and health education and counseling, as well as guiding patients to make smarter health and lifestyle choice. There are more than 290,000 licensed NPs in the United States, and 8,449 in Michigan providing primary, acute, and specialty care to patients of all ages and walks of life.

To view the proclamation, click the link below:

• Nurse Practitioner Week.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

November 8, 2020

Contact: [email protected] or Dale George

Governor Whitmer Proclaims Nov. 8-14  Winter Hazards Awareness Week

LANSING, Mich. – With winter weather rapidly approaching, Michigan residents are encouraged to make winter emergency preparedness a priority.

“Michiganders are no strangers to winter weather,” said Gov. Whitmer. “I’ve proclaimed this week as Michigan’s Winter Hazards Awareness Week to remind everyone to take a few steps to prepare for winter and ensure you and your family are ready for winter weather.”

Severe winter weather poses health and safety concerns with extremely cold temperatures, freezing pipes, potential propane shortages and power outages. Michiganders should consider the following actions to be prepared for the upcoming winter months.

To prepare your home for winter:

• Weatherproof your home by installing weather-stripping and caulking and insulating walls, doors and windows.
• Insulate any water lines that run along exterior walls, so pipes are less likely to freeze.
• Lock in a propane rate and have a backup heating plan, such as a generator, wood stove or fireplace.
• Have furnaces inspected by a qualified professional and change the air filter.
• Have your fireplace and chimney cleaned and inspected. Contact your local fire department for a referral or look for a local inspector online.
• Install battery-operated carbon monoxide (CO) detectors near every sleeping area.
• Clean gutters to prevent ice dams from forming. Roof ice dams can cause water to build-up, leading to interior damage.
• Clear storm drains along the curb to enable water to drain. If plugged, water has the potential to go into low-lying areas and flood basements.
• Have an emergency preparedness kit stored safely in your house that includes water, non-perishable food, a first aid kit, extra batteries, a battery or hand-crank powered radio, emergency lighting or flashlights, extra blankets and warm clothing.

To prepare your vehicle for winter:

• Have your radiator serviced before winter and make sure to replace windshield wipers and wiper fluid with a wintertime mixture that will not freeze.
• Replace any worn tires and check air pressure regularly.
• Have your brakes, brake fluid, oil, car battery, heater and exhaust checked to make sure everything is running efficiently.
• Keep an emergency preparedness kit in your vehicle stocked with batteries, battery powered or hand-crank radio, flashlight, windshield scraper, jumper cables, mobile phone charger, shovel, blankets, first aid kit, non-perishable food and bottled water in the event you get stranded or stuck.

For more tips, go to www.michigan.gov/miready or follow the MSP/EMHSD on Twitter at @MichEMHS.

To view the proclamation, click the link below:

• Winter Hazards Awareness Week.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 5, 2020

Contact: [email protected]

Governor Whitmer Signs Bills Into Law

LANSING, Mich. — Today, Governor Whitmer signed the following bills into law that are among the Legislatures new coronavirus legislation.

“Right now, Michigan is seeing a record number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and these bills will help us protect each other as we continue to fight this virus,” said Governor Whitmer. “COVID-19 is still a very real threat to our families, frontline workers, and small businesses, and I will continue to do everything in my power to save lives and will work with anyone who shares those goals.”

House Bill 6137 requires the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to publish publicly on the DHHS website certain data regarding COVID-19 and nursing homes. The bill requires updates from DHHS on its website weekly regarding certain COVID-19 metrics and visitation policies. It also requires the publishing of historic nursing home COVID-19 data. The historic data must be published by November 15, 2020 and future data will be updated weekly beginning November 15, 2020. The bill is tied barred with Senate Bill 1094 which was recently signed by the governor. The bill was sponsored by Representative Leslie Love, D-Detroit.

House Bill 6293 codifies in law certain expanded COVID-19 testing services that Governor Whitmer provided for through executive orders. This bill allows certain volunteers and workers to help with the COVID-19 testing process under the proper supervision of qualified licensees or local health departments until June 30, 2021. The bill was sponsored by Representative Graham Filler, R-DeWitt.

House Bill 6294–6297 together  allow certain documents to be signed, witnessed and notarized electronically until December 31, 2020. The bills amend the Estates and Protected Individuals Code, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, and the Michigan Law on Notarial Acts, respectively. The bills have largely retroactive effect from April 30, 2020 and encourage the use of electronic signatures, witnesses, and records where available. The bills were sponsored by Representative Sarah Lightner, R-Springport.