Ted Roelofs of Kentwood, has been a general assignment reporter at Bridge since 2012 and has written extensively on health care in that time as well as prison and juvenile justice reform. Roelofs spent nearly three decades at the Grand Rapids Press where he covered politics, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rural poverty and mental illness among the homeless. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. Reach Ted at ted.roelofs@gmail.com
A day in Miami-Dade Circuit Court shows the promise of a program that has reduced the region’s jail population and may serve as a model for Michigan.
In Miami, peer specialist Justin Volpe taps into his own dark past to reach out to criminal suspects with serious mental illness. Michigan court and government officials are studying whether to adopt such a model.
The state health department threatens closure of Lakeshore Regional Entity, which coordinates behavioral health care for 30,000 recipients in West Michigan. Lakeshore’s board chair threatens suit, says state is to blame.
A Grand Rapids roads summit provided no clear answers on how Michigan’s Democratic governor and Republican-led Legislature might reach a deal that still raises the more than $2 billion need annually for a roads fix.
From Detroit to Clare, poor choices and limited access to health care have added up to lower lifetimes for many state residents, making health a gnawing but significant concern to those who live in Michigan and those leading it.
Michigan health officials say 39 residents have contracted the highly contagious disease. But groups opposed to mandatory vaccines are asking lawmakers to preserve their freedom on whether to vaccinate children.
Trial judges routinely impose significant court costs on guilty criminal defendants that go to help fund court operations. A state-appointed commission calls the practice corrupting and evidence of a broken system.
Look up average rates in your ZIP Code. Guaranteed, they are higher than the national average, adding grist to debate about reforming Michigan’s no-fault laws.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg invests $10 million for “high impact” solutions. Experts tell Bridge Magazine where investment would help most.
A new study finds links between two grim causes of death, but also poses some proven ways to reduce rates
See how your town compares as a new state law tracking public pension and health care debt lays bare the financial woes of rural Michigan.
Experts concede a new Michigan law on pension and retiree health debt has no real enforcement powers on communities that refuse to tackle this significant problem on their own.
Gov. Whitmer faces likely Republican opposition to her campaign vow. And a repeal blows a $330 million hole in the state’s already strained budget.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expressed displeasure with millions of dollars spent on dozens of pet projects during lame duck, but said state will honor the bill
The Michigan governor’s order is intended to make state agencies more responsive to FOIA requests. She did not make her office subject to the law, and Republicans pounced.
The Democratic governor is signaling a less restrictive approach to pot licensing than under Gov. Rick Snyder. Critics say she will be held accountable for any downside to the state’s pot laws.
Slowly, addiction treatment centers in the state are shifting away from old-school abstinence to combining counseling with medication. But experts warn Michigan isn’t moving quickly enough
Kyle Hanshaw lied, stole and tricked doctors to get painkillers. Then he found a Bay City medication treatment program that worked.
As rural hospitals close their obstetrics units, many mothers and their babies will pay a price in far longer journeys for hospital care
Michigan midwives deliver hundreds of babies a year at home, an option that may be more attractive to rural expectant mothers with no hospitals nearby
