Cobo expo spotlights vast health network:
County exec welcomes participants
Detroit - Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano helped welcome visitors, sponsors and experts to a health expo at Cobo Hall on Monday that stressed the importance of coverage for Michigan's uninsured citizens.
Open to the public at no charge, the Health Expo for the Uninsured featured health coverage options for small business, children and individuals, free and low cost health screenings, Medicaid/MIChild Eligibility training and informational sessions on the ballot initiative, Divided We Fail, Medicare Part D, and health care disparities. The Health Expo for the Uninsured is co-sponsored by Wayne County, Wayne County Health Choice and the city of Detroit, one of many events being held throughout southeast Michigan during Cover The Uninsured Week (April 27 - May 3,) a national effort to advocate for access to health care for 47 million uninsured nationally. There are 1.4 million uninsured people in Michigan including 160,000 children. More than 100 exhibitors provided one-stop shopping for health services, all under one roof.
"It may be fitting that we are here in Cobo today," the county executive said, pointing to Windsor and the Canadian skyline, where universal health care is provided to its citizens. "There is no reason why Michigan and America can't provide a safety net, as well."
Health care is increasingly a hot-button issue in American politics. For example, candidates for president are debating how to make health coverage available to all U.S. citizens, especially as costs rise at alarming rates and employers scramble to pay or pass costs along to workers squeezed in a flat economy.
The Cobo expo featured several health-screening activities, which attracted several thousand participants, many who hadn't had a regular doctor visit due to the high cost and a lack of insurance. Wayne County offers a number of health programs to assist in the efforts to protect its citizens, from pre-natal care to senior programs.
Edith Killins, director of the county's Department of Health and Human Services, said one of the tragedies of the uninsured is the alarming rate of low birth weight,s premature and infant mortality numbers in Wayne County. Education, regular doctor checkups and other health tools would curtail the senseless statistics, she said.
"There is no excuse, in this era and in this country, for allowing newborns to either die or to be born so far from the starting line," Killins said. "And Wayne County will do everything to help in ending the devastation."
EVENT SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 29
Business Community - Detroit Athletic Club The Uninsured in the Workplace: Solutions That Work. 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM. Detroit Athletic Club. Business, healthcare, and community leaders develop practical tools that employers can use to help them address the problem of the uninsured in the workplace. Sponsored by the Greater Detroit Area Health Council and the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Thursday, May 1
Faith Community Interfaith Prayer Breakfast: Myth, Fact, Time to ACT. 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2080 W Grand Blvd. Detroit 48208
Faith leaders gather for interfaith prayer and call to action. Speakers include Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, OH; Dr. Othelia Pryor, Michigan Minority Health; Mary Sue Coleman, University of Michigan; Rob Fowler, Small Business Association of Michigan. Reservations: 1-888-440-7325
Friday, May 2
Public Panel: Covering The Uninsured: Who has the Will and Who has the Way. 12 noon - 2:00 PM Danto Auditorium, University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. Experts will examine myths, best practices, approaches and solutions to the problem of the uninsured. Catherine McLaughlan, UofM School of Public Health; Marianne Udow-Phillips, Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation; Kevin Seitz, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Ellen Rabinowitz, Washtenaw Community Health Plan. (734) 998-7555
April 10 - May 12
Public Free/Low Cost Health Screenings & Health Insurance Enrollment - Project Healthy Living Health screenings, insurance enrollment at 20 sites in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. Call (313) 531-9108. Visit www.projecthealthyliving.net
Dateline NBC's Chris Hansen interviews Robert Ficano
On Thursday, Oct. 9, NBC reporter Chris Hansen interviewed Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano for a Dateline NBC special on mortgage foreclosures. Hansen and camera crews spent two days in Wayne County reporting on the county’s innovative Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program. An air date has not been decided.
Today, The Detroit/East Medical Control Authority (DEMCA) committee awarded an EMS crew this year’s Lifesaver of the Year award for the work they did this past summer while transporting a cardiac arrest patient to the hospital.
County agency continues to build neighborhoods; project along Linwood a big success
The sound of an electric saw and hammers pounding nails may not raise eyebrows in many neighborhoods, but in this area along Linwood in Detroit, for some, it’s the sound of music.
Detroit - Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano helped welcome visitors, sponsors and experts to a health expo at Cobo Hall on Monday that stressed the importance of coverage for Michigan's uninsured citizens.
On Thursday, Oct. 9, NBC reporter Chris Hansen interviewed Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano for a Dateline NBC special on mortgage foreclosures. Hansen and camera crews spent two days in Wayne County reporting on the county’s innovative Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program. An air date has not been decided.
Today, The Detroit/East Medical Control Authority (DEMCA) committee awarded an EMS crew this year’s Lifesaver of the Year award for the work they did this past summer while transporting a cardiac arrest patient to the hospital.
Westland - Who's going to be the next Michael Phelps? That was the question posed by Kevin Kelley, Wayne County's seniors/veterans director. 
The sound of an electric saw and hammers pounding nails may not raise eyebrows in many neighborhoods, but in this area along Linwood in Detroit, for some, it’s the sound of music.
