Community Programs
The UMHS continues to provide various outreach programs and reduced-fee services to our communities. This section includes non-traditional community benefits typically reported in the UMHHC response to the Michigan Hospital Association’s annual community benefits survey. These are the programs that are most easily quantified, having the broadest community impact and the largest dedicated U-M funding support.
However, the Health System provides several more programs and services that benefit the community, such as those listed on this page. If you are a UMHS faculty or staff member, and do not see your program listed below, please take a moment to fill out a Community Benefit Enrollment Form.
Cancer AnswerLine
The Health System provides information to the community regarding health topics in a variety of telephone help lines. The Cancer AnswerLine is staffed by experienced oncology nurses who combine knowledge and compassion to provide personalized answers to each caller’s questions. The nurses offer information on the entire spectrum of cancer issues including prevention, risk reduction, warning signs, detection methods, treatment options, clinical trials, support services, provider referrals and appointment scheduling.
Cancer Education
The Health System is involved in a number of education and outreach events aimed at raising awareness and support for cancer. A speaker’s bureau is provided free of charge to various schools, service agencies, businesses and support groups in the community. A free community event called “Survivor’s Day” is aimed at celebrating life with a focus on cancer survivorship issues. The U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center sponsors many educational talks, including “Cancer Answer Nights” in various locations throughout the community, distributes free educational materials and brochures to the community, and provides useful information about cancer on its Web site.
Community Beat
More than 150,000 copies of Community Beat, a Health System publication focused on community health promotion and disease prevention, are distributed twice a year throughout Washtenaw, western Wayne and Livingston counties. The magazine provides health tips, highlights specific community health information and targets at-risk populations for health education. It also provides a broad listing of Health System programs and offerings in the community and describes support groups, classes, health screenings and education opportunities.
Health Topics A-Z
The Health System’s Web site has a special section “Health Topics A-Z” that is designed to educate the community about a multitude of health issues. Last year, the Web site had 21 million hits and 5.6 million user sessions.
Housing Bureau for Seniors
The Health System provides a number of resources and programs for the older adult population. The Housing Bureau for Seniors is a place where seniors and their families can find answers to questions about senior housing and care options, receive assistance with loans to prevent foreclosure as a result of unpaid property taxes, and prevent elderly eviction for non payment of rent.
Maternal and Infant Support Services Program
The Health System’s Maternal and Infant Support Services Program provides hospital and home-based prenatal and infant care services to Medicaid-eligible patients. Services include assessments and provision of needed care and childbirth education classes in English and Spanish. Care is provided by a multidisciplinary team of social workers, dieticians and nurses. The program reached more that 400 community members in FY 2006.
M-FIT
M-Fit provides community services through a variety of programs. More than 60 community groups (8700 participants) received immunizations, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, fitness testing, attended behavior change classes (smoking cessation, exercise classes or meditation classes) or attended other M-Fit seminars through the M-Fit Corporate Wellness program. In FY 2005 60 participants completed M-Fit’s “Healthy Habits for Life” weight management program. Pre and post assessment indicated improvement in all measures (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Glucose, Blood Pressure, BMI, Weight, waist circumference and resting heart rate) when looking at the average of all 60 participants.
M-Fit’s Health Education Resource Center is dedicated to guiding and counseling Health System patients and families in selecting health information resources. The purpose of the center is to improve our community’s health status through prevention and self-care education, improve participation in informed health care decision-making and improve compliance with recommended treatment plans through educational methods that support clinical advice. The center can be accessed individually or by staff that provide guidance and counseling to the community. The center serves approximately 7,000 community members each year through more than 70 educational events.
Motor Meals
Every day the Health System provides two nutritious meals to 225 Ann Arbor homebound seniors or frail individuals through its Motor Meals program. Meals are prepared in the main kitchen of the University of Michigan Hospital and delivered to recipients by community volunteers. In FY 2006 over 135,000 meals were delivered to our community.
New Hope Outreach Clinic
The University of Michigan Health System and New Hope Baptist Church created the New Hope Outreach Clinic to reach African-Americans who are not receiving the medical and health care they need. The clinic offers health care services to meet the medical needs of older African Americans and their families, while recognizing cultural sensitivities. The clinic offers primary care, health screening, health education and referrals for people ages 55 and over. The primary care is provided by a Clinical Nurse Specialist who has a Master's degree in nursing and special training in providing healthcare to older adults. The nurse works with and under the supervision of a physician.
Program for Multicultural Health
Recognizing the disproportionate high rates of mortality and morbidity among under served multicultural populations, the Program for Multicultural Health was established in 1993 to play a vital role toward improving the accessibility and use of quality health care for these diverse populations. Efforts have been focused in three major areas: providing cultural competency training to health care providers and students; working with community organizations to implement culturally-specific health promotional activities and health screenings; and developing and distributing culturally-oriented health educational materials to the entire community in order to enhance the knowledge and empowerment of individual health care management. The program has been recognized by local residents and nationally acclaimed health professionals for its innovative approaches to improving the health status of underserved ethnic and racial groups through the integration of cultural considerations with clinical health care practices.
Project Healthy Schools
Project Healthy Schools is a collaborative effort between the Health System and the Ann Arbor Public Schools to teach sixth-grade students about heart-healthy lifestyles. The overall goal is to reduce their future risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The project is supported by a broad community partnership. Clague Middle School was the pilot site and yielded excellent results – decreasing cholesterol and glucose levels.
Reach Out and Read
The national ROR program, which promotes early literacy by bringing new books and advice about the importance of reading aloud into the pediatric exam room is a part of the East Ann Arbor Health Center, the Ypsilanti Health Center, the Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti, and the Migrant Outreach Clinics in rural Michigan. Children visiting pediatric offices in these 4 centers are sent home with a new book in hand.
Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools
The Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools is a collaboration between the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ypsilanti Public Schools, the U-M School of Nursing and the U-M Health System. Its mission is to promote the health and holistic growth of the students and families of the school communities they serve by providing school-based health services such as physical examinations, immunizations, acute and chronic illness management, dental screening and services, individual and family counseling, group counseling, referrals for community resources, and health education and counseling.In FY06, these school-based health centers served 917 students; more than 75 percent of the students at each school have received services through RAHS . Supplemental funding support has come from grants through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Michigan Department of Education.
School Community Youth Program
The School Community Youth Program offers a multitude of free educational activities highlighting health promotion and nursing to children in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities. Programs have been developed and delivered in area classrooms that are age-appropriate for children, from preschool through high school. The total number of students that were involved in either classroom or onsite programs for 2005 is 6,884. In addition, 3,000 adults and children participated in the Hands-on Museum only.
Tobacco Consultation Services
The UMHS Tobacco Consultation Services program is dedicated to reducing the number of smokers in the community, thus improving the community’s overall health. The program provides inpatient bedside counseling for all identified tobacco users admitted to University Hospital and Women’s Hospital. Counseling regarding environmental tobacco smoke exposure also is provided for family members of patients admitted to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Also, the program provides an outpatient intensive tobacco cessation program for adults through University Hospital, as well as a special program for older adults through the Turner Senior Resource Center Intensive Program. There is also telephone consultation available for individuals unable to attend outpatient services.
Trail’s Edge Camp for Ventilator Dependant Children
Trail’s Edge Camp is a summer camp for children who are ventilator-dependent. The camp is staffed by volunteers and funded through donations. Since 1990, this ambitious accomplishment of caring that has provided a five-day, five-night summer camp experience for campers ages five through 18 who are ventilator-dependent and medically fragile. Camp is held during the first full week in June at the Fowler Center for Outdoor Learning, a beautiful barrier-free camp on 200 acres in Mayville, Michigan.
Turner Geriatric Center
The UMHS Turner Geriatric Center provides many education and support events for seniors, including the Turner Senior Resource Center, computer classes, social events, in-home counseling, support groups, health screenings, and information and referral to community organizations.
U-M TeleCare
U-M TeleCare is a free 24-hour community resource which allows confidential access, at the customer’s convenience, to comprehensive, up-to-date health information using a touch-tone telephone.
Women’s Health Resource Center
The Health System sponsors and coordinates a number of women’s health outreach events, and provides education and referral information, through our Women’s Health Resource Center. The WHRC staff offers free, compassionate information and advice regarding women’s health issues, Outreach events include breast cancer awareness, health screenings and abuse prevention initiatives.
Youth Mentoring Program
The mission of the Youth Mentoring Program is to provide opportunities for youth by instilling within them a sense of purpose, responsibility, accountability and ethics for personal development and in preparation for future healthcare careers. The program offers career exploration for students who are in grade 9 and above. Students participate in a wide range of group activities, and “shadow” individuals whose jobs they may be interested in pursuing, and attend career workshops at the Health System. The Program served approximately 45 students in FY 2005.
Support for Other Community Organizations
The Health System is committed to giving back to the community by supporting the many organizations that are already working so hard to improve community health. As such, we provide services and staff to organizations and events including the American Heart Walk, the American Cancer Society, the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan, the March of Dimes, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the American Diabetes Association and the United Way. In addition, we donate medical support and supplies to community clinics and organizations.
Dedicated Community Services Staff
Our Community Health Services department is the Health System’s “home base” for many of our community outreach programs. Programs that are directly administered through this office include Motor Meals, Housing Bureau for Seniors, Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools, Interpreter Services, Community Beat and the Community Health Initiative (including the small grants community outreach process). In FY 2006, 15 grants were awarded to UMHS faculty and employees to fund community health improvement outreach efforts such as screening clinics, health fairs and community programming. These grants varied in range up to $2,500 and primarily covered supplies – all health system employees applying for these grant awards provided their services free of charge. Additionally, this office serves as a liaison between the Washtenaw Health Improvement Plan and the Health System, and coordinates the Michigan Hospital Association’s annual Community Benefits report, and other community-based public health efforts.
