Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2021

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112, SutfinL1@michigan.gov

MDHHS launches biomonitoring project to
assess Michigan firefighter PFAS exposure

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Division of Environmental Health recently launched the PFAS in Firefighters of Michigan Surveillance (PFOMS) project. During this multi-year project, MDHHS will assess Michigan firefighters’ average exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – chemicals commonly found in Class B firefighting foams used to fight fires involving gasoline, oil and jet fuel.

“The findings will help inform activities to minimize firefighters’ exposure to PFAS,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS. “Emerging science continues to reveal the effects that PFAS can have on human health, and the firefighters who participate in the PFOMS project will contribute to our understanding of PFAS exposure among firefighters.”

The PFOMS project is currently in the process of recruiting career and volunteer firefighters who work for airport fire stations in Michigan, as well as randomly selected municipal fire departments across Michigan. Seven departments are participating in the first year of the PFOMS project, including:

• ACW Unionville Fire Department (Tuscola County)
• Alcona Township Fire Department (Alcona County)
• Cambridge Township Fire Department (Lenawee County)
• Capital City Airport Department of Public Safety (Ingham County)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Fire Department (Wayne County)
• Dorr Township Fire Department (Allegan County)
• Rochester Hills Fire Department (Oakland County)

Over the course of the next three years, MDHHS plans to recruit between 600 and 900 firefighters to participate. The PFOMS biomonitoring project launched April 28, beginning with the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Fire Department. The project will cost about $1 million and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and MDHHS.

For more information about the PFOMS project, visit Michigan.gov/DEHbio or call the MDHHS Division of Environmental Health toll free at 844-464-7327.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2021

CONTACT: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112, [email protected]

Governor Whitmer proclaims May as Women’s Health Month 

LANSING, Mich. – Healthy women are the cornerstone of healthy societies, and improving the health of Michigan women and girls has the potential to drive health improvements for all communities across the state. To help reaffirm the state’s commitment to improving the health of all Michigan women, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is joining with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Michigan Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health in proclaiming May as Women’s Health Month.

Additionally, May 9-15 will be designated as “Women’s Health Week.”

“The health of every woman in Michigan is crucial to the overall well-being of our state,” said Governor Whitmer. “By designating May as Women’s Health Month, we recognize the urgency of using state investments to drive equality and expand access to healthcare by removing as many barriers as possible. We can achieve better outcomes for women and families through programs like Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies – an initiative designed to prevent maternal deaths and addresses racial disparities and inequities. This Women’s Health Month, I want to recommit the state of Michigan to improving the health and well-being of every woman in our state.”

Despite advances in medical science and technology and statewide efforts to combat maternal deaths, women are still dying from pregnancy-related causes. About 44% of maternal deaths in Michigan are preventable, and Black women are more than two times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. The Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies plan provides actionable policy change, creates partnerships with providers and universities, expands access to home visiting programs and aids in family planning access and education.

“Women play such an important role in keeping families healthy,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “Women are often the ones who take their family members to the doctor, sometimes delaying care for themselves because they are taking care of others. That is why it is so important to elevate the importance of women’s health and give women the resources to get and stay healthy.”

For more information on women’s health, visit the CDC website.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2021

CONTACT: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112, [email protected]

MDHHS names Dr. Alexis Travis as senior deputy
director for the Public Health Administration

LANSING, Mich. – Dr. Alexis Travis has been named the new senior deputy director for the Public Health Administration at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and will start on May 30.

Travis joined MDHHS in 2018 and most recently served as senior deputy director of MDHHS’s Aging & Adult Services Agency (AASA), where she provided statewide leadership, direction, and resources to support Michigan’s aging, adult services, and disability networks. In this role she advanced health equity for older adults and led efforts to address the need to expand the direct care workforce. She led AASA in Michigan to become the fifth state in the nation and first in the Midwest to join the World Health Organization and AARP age-friendly initiative. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Travis worked with the AASA team and the state’s aging network to launch many innovative programs to address food insecurity, social isolation and support risk mitigation in one of the highest risk populations of older adults in Michigan.

Prior to that to her work with AASA, Travis served as director of MDHHS’s Bureau of Health and Wellness within the Population Health Administration where she managed the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Control and the Division of HIV and STD Programs. In that role, she collaborated with stakeholders to develop a state dementia plan and established a state-level public health workgroup on healthy aging, which she continues to lead.

As senior deputy director of public health, Travis will oversee the Bureau of Laboratories, Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health, Bureau of Health and Wellness, Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention and the Bureau of EMS, Trauma, and Preparedness. She will work with local, state, and federal partners to develop and implement public health policies. Dr. Travis will continue to report to Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, who will continue in her role as chief deputy director of health and chief medical executive for MDHHS.

“Dr. Travis is a champion of public health and has driven measurable positive change in her time at MDHHS. She continues to be an integral asset in reducing health disparities and increasing health equity for Michiganders,” said MDHHS director Elizabeth Hertel. “She is well-suited to develop strategies and programs to promote the health of Michiganders, and we’re excited to have her in this role.”

Travis holds a doctorate in public health from Walden University in Minnesota, a master’s degree of pharmacy with honors from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and was a participant in the Socrates/Erasmus Student Exchange Program at the University of Salamanca in Spain. She is a graduate of the Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts/Boston University School of Public Health Managing Effectively in Today’s Public Health Environment Class of 2017.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 6, 2021

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112, SutfinL1@michigan.gov

Mental Health Awareness Month takes on new
importance in wake of COVID-19 pandemic
Mental wellness resources available at Michigan.gov/StayWell

LANSING, Mich. – After a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic challenged the mental resiliency of all Michiganders, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service (MDHHS) join mental health advocates across the nation in recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month.

Observed nationally since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month promotes mental health education and support in hopes of decreasing the stigma often associated with seeking help for mental illness.

“This Mental Health Month and year-round, we must remember that it’s OK to not be OK,” said Governor Whitmer. “I encourage Michiganders to reach out to friends or family who may be struggling or get help themselves if they need it. Together, we can remove the stigma around accessing mental health care and uplift each other.”

“The pandemic has highlighted the critical role mental health plays in our overall wellbeing,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. “Recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month serves as a reminder to honor our minds as we work to fight this pandemic. And of course, we also want to honor the countless professionals across the state who work tirelessly to help individuals with mental illness get the support they need.”

Across the U.S., reports of increased stress-related conditions are high as individuals face the strains of the COVID-19 crisis. According to recent data (March 3 – 15, 2021) from the Household Pulse Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 30% of Michiganders reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the seven days prior to being surveyed. The survey shows Michigan’s self-reported symptom numbers have hovered between 30% and 49% since December 2020. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the negative psychological impacts of a disaster can last for months or years – and if left untreated, can contribute to mental illness.

MDHHS is working on several fronts to focus attention on mental health as part of public health. The Michigan Suicide Prevention Commission recently released an initial report with recommendations on how to reduce the suicide rate, including increasing and expanding access to care for at-risk Michiganders.

Early in the pandemic, MDHHS partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Administration and SAMHSA to develop the Stay Well program, offering emotional support through the Stay Well counseling line seven days a week, 24 hours a day (dial 888-535-6136 and press “8.”)  The program’s website, Michigan.gov/StayWell, offers links to a variety of mental health resources, including crisis help lines, virtual support groups, guidance documents, videos and recorded webinars.

For mental wellness resources, visit Michigan.gov/StayWell.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 4, 2021                          

CONTACT: Bob Wheaton.  517-241-2112, wheato[email protected]

  MDHHS beginning work on new child welfare technology system that will help improve outcomes for children and families

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and its contractors this week are beginning design work on the first phase of a new child welfare technology system.

The project represents another significant step in the department’s effort to overhaul its technology to better serve children and families and provide reliable data to track the performance of the state’s child welfare system, which involves Children’s Protective Services, foster care, adoption and juvenile justice.

“This change will allow our workers to spend more time with children and families, which is our priority,” said Demetrius Starling, who took over as executive director of the MDHHS Children’s Services Agency Sunday, May 2. “This new system will provide more reliable information technology to the state employees who investigate child abuse and neglect allegations and help youth in foster care and those facing juvenile justice cases. The new system will be easy to navigate and less time-consuming to operate. Those of us in the child welfare field need reliable data to better identify the areas of our work that require more attention and resources. Our number one goal is to protect the safety and well-being of the children and families we serve. A new information system will assist us in this important work.”

The project kickoff includes efforts to gather feedback from users – which include MDHHS and private agency partners child welfare staff – and other stakeholders.

In October 2020 the department secured funding for an information technology contract to begin developing a Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System. In March 2021, MDHHS awarded an IT development contract to Deloitte Consultants, LLP, to design, develop and implement the first module of the new system, which will be used for licensing child welfare agencies and foster families. The contract offers options for the selected vendor to continue with additional modules after proving success in the first module.

Deloitte has implemented Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems in two states and is working with two other states on their systems.

MDHHS will replace the current Michigan Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System – commonly known as MiSACWIS – in a phased approach. As the existing system is replaced incrementally one module at a time, the other portions of MiSACWIS will continue to be used. This transition is expected to be completed over four to five years.

Federally funded child welfare systems had been required to collect and submit data through Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems. However, the federal government is now requiring states to move to more modern Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems to receive full federal funding. Approximately 50 percent of the cost of the new system will be paid for with federal dollars. New system requirements are intended to allow for greater flexibility and support the use of improved technology to better support child welfare practice.

MDHHS will work with Deloitte to initiate the use of new technology using a Platform-as-a-Service, which would rely at its foundation on technology that is routinely updated and enhanced.

The modular approach is consistent with modern best practice for technology development, and the reliance on Platform-as-a-Service will increase the reliability of the system while reducing costs for development and operations.

The initiation of this transition to new technology aligns well with the other transformations under way in the Children’s Services Agency. With a focus on reform to establish a family well-being child welfare system to provide additional services to prevent placements in foster care and enhance family functioning in the home, many of the agency’s practices are transforming. Developing a child welfare licensing module on new technology offers the opportunity to reimagine business processes and an opportunity for transformation as well.