Kate Wells
Pioneer Press
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Past articles by Kate:
Family Caregivers — many of them daughters — find support on #dementia TikTok – Twin Cities
The TikTok hashtag “dementia” has billions of views. → Read More
85% of Michigan's inpatient hospital beds are full, with some patients getting turned away
85% of the state's ICU beds and 85% of all inpatient beds are full, according to the latest state data. Spectrum Health in West Michigan has hit a system-level record high for patients, forcing them to turn away more transfer patients from smaller or more rural hospitals. "It's heartbreaking," the system's president said. → Read More
After months of COVID's "slow burn," Michigan hits full fledged "fourth surge"
The state's health care system is buckling under the joint weight of rising COVID hospitalizations, the non-COVID patients pouring into Emergency Departments, and a "brutal" staffing shortage. → Read More
Despite state rule, childhood vaccine waivers are rising again
It turns out plenty of parents are willing to go sit through an in-person vaccine education session at their local health department, in order to get their → Read More
Here's where to get your 3rd booster shot in Michigan, and how to know if you need one
Michiganders who want a third COVID booster shot should be able to get one, even without providing proof of a medical condition, health officials said… → Read More
Michigan now has 33 counties with substantial or high transmission, up from just 6 last week
Millions of Michiganders live in counties that now have “substantial” or “high” rates of COVID transmission. That’s the threshold where, as of last week, → Read More
As more teens are hospitalized for eating disorders, here's what parents need to know
Amelia Haywood’s story is the kind that doctors say they’ve been hearing over and over again for months now. “I’m 15 years old. I play volleyball,” Haywood → Read More
Saginaw suspends water shutoffs
Starting Tuesday, Saginaw city officials are “suspending” new water shutoffs, after drawing criticism for sending out 750 shutoff notices earlier this → Read More
Confused? Here's what you need to know about masks, restrictions after June 22
Michigan’s officially reopened, baby. As of June 22, it’s goodbye capacity restrictions and broad face mask requirements, regardless of your vaccination → Read More
Restaurants offer $50 (and cheap beer!) to workers who get COVID vaccine
Only about 1 in 3 Michiganders in their late teens and 20s are fully vaccinated. The restaurant industry → Read More
State's first Hantavirus case: Don't panic, just be cautious about rodent exposure
Yes, it’s a rare virus that people can get from animals (specifically mice, in this case.) And yes, it can be fatal, and has symptoms like fever, fatigue, → Read More
Outdoor, residential gathering limits lift; one month left of mask rule
All COVID restrictions on outdoor or residential gatherings will be lifted as of Tuesday, June 1. → Read More
Here are the biggest reasons Michiganders say they don't want the COVID vaccine
White Michiganders are more likely to think the risk of COVID is overblown, and that they don’t think they’re at risk of getting sick. But Black and Latinx → Read More
Here they come: Northern Michigan health officials brace for unmasked tourists
It’ll be an “interesting test.” That’s how Wendy Hirschenberger, health office for Grand Traverse County, is looking at the weeks ahead. “For me as an → Read More
Some MDOC health care workers may get COVID-19 vaccine next week
The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially brutal for Michigan’s corrections system, with nearly 20,000 inmates testing positive since the pandemic began - → Read More
What happened after a U of M music professor was arrested on sex abuse charges
Thursday morning, on a quiet Ann Arbor street, agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Child Exploitation Investigations Unit arrested a → Read More
Legal battle brews as Ottawa County shuts down Christian school over COVID orders
The Ottawa County health department has temporarily shut down a Christian school in West Michigan, and the related legal battle is one of the first to → Read More
As more schools close, who gets left behind?
For one elementary school teacher, it feels like “the wheels are coming off the bus.” It was around the third week of school when her coworker, a fellow → Read More
Nearly 5,000 Michigan college students, staff part of active COVID-19 outbreak
Michigan’s higher education institutions are together reporting 4,921 cases associated with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the latest outbreak → Read More
Settlement reached for Michigan's juvenile lifers, schedules "prompt" resentencings
The settlement reached between the ACLU of Michigan and the Attorney General's office would " → Read More