Ted Roelofs
Bridge Magazine
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Past articles by Ted:
As Michigan boosts school security after shootings, how much is too much?
Deadly shootings at MSU and Oxford High spurred the tate to divert millions of dollars for school police officers and other security measures. Research is mixed on whether those measures save lives, and they come with a cost to student mental health. → Read More
Michigan youth in mental health crisis: Could more screening help?
Advocates endorse national panel guidelines to screen children aged 8 to 18 for anxiety disorders. → Read More
Food assistance cuts loom for 1.3 million Michiganders. No legislative action yet
Some low-income households will see a loss of more than $500 in monthly benefits beginning March 1. → Read More
Medicare’s $35-a-month insulin cap still leaves many Michigan residents out of luck
Hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents with diabetes don’t qualify for the price cap because they aren’t in Medicare. Health advocates add that even with the cap, low-income patients can’t afford the other aspects of diabetes care. → Read More
On Michigan State campus, fragile emotions and a fierce desire for support
Students say they are still processing the terror of Monday. One said she feels like she can never again walk comfortably without looking over her shoulder. Experts say most students will show resilience, but want students and those who love them to monitor their progress. → Read More
‘Staggering’ rise in overdoses, suicides for African Americans in Michigan
The rate of opioid overdose deaths doubled among Black residents over a recent five-year period. Suicide rates jumped 88 percent. Advocates say isolation, treatment disparities and the ubiquity of fentanyl in street drugs are behind the increases. → Read More
Michigan's wake up call: Pediatric group issues guidance against childhood obesity
The American Academy of Pediatrics urges earlier and intensive interventions, including surgery in severe cases, to stem a rising tide of childhood obesity but not every Michigan doctor agrees → Read More
Medicaid review could drop 400,000 Michigan residents from coverage
Beginning April 1, Michiganders must once again prove Medicaid eligibility, following years of protection from cutoffs during the pandemic. Many will likely lose coverage even though they qualify because they don’t fill out the right form. → Read More
Michigan sees spike in 988 mental health calls. But what happens next?
Michigan’s new three-digit hotline has produced a jump in calls by people in mental health distress since it began last summer. But advocates say the next step – continued treatment for those callers – is fraught with delays because of a shortage of trained professionals. → Read More
Long shifts, low pay, high stress: Why Michigan can’t find 911 dispatchers
Michigan emergency call centers are short staffed, some by up to 30 percent. That forces dispatchers to work punishingly long shifts, day after grueling day. Burn out is high, but the price paid by people needing emergency help can be even higher. → Read More
Rise in violent crime plagues some Michigan metros this summer
Homicides are up in Grand Rapids and Oakland County, while Detroit has been hit by a spate of mass shootings. → Read More
Rising costs make for rough roads for Michigan’s independent truckers
Soaring fuel and equipment costs are forcing some truckers out of the business, adding to supply chain woes. → Read More
Michigan prison staffers quitting in droves. Will 5% raises make them stay?
Long hours, grueling work, stress and danger have caused a staffing crisis among corrections officers that Michigan and other states hope to solve with more money. → Read More
One rural Michigan hospital averts closure, as others struggle to hold on
A literal last-day state infusion of $11-million is keeping the doors open at Sturgis Hospital, keeping it from completing its planned shutdown later in July. But red ink continues to pressure independent and other hospitals that small, rural communities depend upon. → Read More
Battle Creek chooses optimism on Kellogg, even as it explores what’s next
City officials said they were putting faith in the word of Kellogg officials that the company would not abandon Battle Creek. But the food company, which is splitting off most of its business to a headquarters in Chicago, has been shrinking its local workforce for years. → Read More
Grand Rapids officer facing 2nd-degree murder charge in Patrick Lyoya shooting
Prosecutors announce the decision on Thursday following the April 4 shooting death of a Congolese immigrant following a traffic stop. → Read More
Suicide stalks rural Michigan
The 15 Michigan counties with the highest suicide rates from 2005 through 2020 were all rural. Experts point to isolation, job loss and lack of mental health care as key contributors to rural despair. → Read More
How programs in Kent County and Detroit are reducing Black infant mortality
Infant mortality rates have dropped significantly over the decades, but remain far higher in Michigan for Black infants. But small programs are improving outcomes by helping women manage stress, get to doctors, and even arrange transport when their cars won’t start. → Read More
FDA menthol cigarette ban hailed as triumph, especially for Black health in Michigan
Michigan advocates and health experts say the ban could have a significant impact on improving public health, but particularly for African American smokers, who overwhelmingly favor menthol cigarettes. But some Black advocates warn of unintended consequences. → Read More
Video tablets are lowering suicides, raising treatment for rural veterans in MI
Military veterans are at higher risk of suicide than the general population, even more so for veterans from rural areas, which have far fewer therapists. A large U.S. study found rural vets who received tablets for remote visits were far more likely to get mental health treatment, with fewer ER visits and lower suicide rates. → Read More