Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.
Lucido Can’t Connect Dots On Nursing Home Deaths
In the midst of the back and forth between the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer administration and the then-GOP-controlled Legislature over COVID-19 nursing home deaths, the Macomb County prosecutor launched an investigation into that issue within his jurisdiction.
Pete Lucido went so far as to create a countywide protocol for residents reporting COVID-19-related deaths connected to involuntary transfers to nursing homes, potentially based on the Whitmer administration’s directives.
Lucido even asked each of the police departments in Macomb to gather whatever information they could on the issue.
The Governor’s office at the time issued a statement suggesting that the Prosecutor was engaged in a “shameful political attack based on neither facts nor reality.”
Now, some two years later, the investigation continues as complaints from constituents who lost loved ones in nursing homes still trickle into his office, but Lucido told MIRS, “there is no way to determine that the deaths were caused by the nursing home protocols” related to COVID patients.
A frustrated Lucido says that without any “medical police” to look into the reasons behind the deaths, “proof” of a linkage between policy and fatalities “is a problem.”
He reported that many of the family members met with the police, but “it is tough to prove the elements of an alleged crime” in this matter.
Pharmacists Could Order, Administer Vaccines Indefinitely Under Bill
Licensed pharmacists in Michigan would be permitted to continue ordering and administering vaccines to individuals 2.5-years-old and over without a physician’s oversight, under legislation that would codify a COVID-19 pandemic-era policy into state law.
During a Senate Health Policy Committee meeting on April 12, Amy Drumm, the senior vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Retailers Association, explained how a COVID-era federal law enabled U.S. pharmacies to order and administer both COVID-19 vaccines and all recommended childhood vaccinations.
“This allowed pharmacies to fill gaps in care that may have existed otherwise,” Drumm said.
Originally, pharmacies across the country were awaiting a May 11 deadline – which is when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services marked the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency – to no longer be federally authorized to perform COVID-19 tests and similar diagnostic testing, nor to administer influenza or COVID-19 vaccines outside of a physician’s guidance.
However, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced his intentions to extend the provision allowing pharmacists, pharmacy interns and pharmacy technicians to administer COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccines, as well as COVID-19 tests, to December 2024.
Even so, federal coverage for the same group to administer routine childhood vaccinations will end when the public health emergency expires.
If approved, SB 219 by Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) will ensure a licensed pharmacist’s ability to order and administer an “immunizing agent” without a physician’s direction within state law. It will additionally permit them to administer diagnostic laboratory tests cleared by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to assign administration duties to a qualified pharmacy technician.
“I think that this bill is a no-brainer. I think that when you look at the pandemic, although it was stressful for many, it was an opportunity to add access to care for a lot of individuals,” Santana said to the committee. “Most people trust their pharmacist. They have a relationship with those pharmacists, and definitely we should not hinder that work that’s already being done.”
Director Amy Ellis of Clinical Care and Pharmacy Operations for SpartanNash, a grocery store retailer headquartered in Kent County, told the committee 15 of Michigan’s corporately owned pharmacies are located in the state’s most socially vulnerable areas, where the social vulnerability index is greater than 75%.
Also, with SpartanNash operating a buying group with more than 100 independently owned pharmacies, Ellis described how many of them are located in rural communities with fewer health care providers.
“…And sometimes they are the only pharmacy within a reasonable driving distance. We (assist) many of these community pharmacies with immunization training and access to vaccines, as they may not have otherwise had the means to administer these programs on their own,” Ellis said. “Without the provisions included in this bill, the administrative burden of providing essential services such as vaccines and testing could be too high for these independent pharmacies, leaving these rural communities with fewer options of care.”
According to information relayed in a letter of support from the National Community Pharmacists Association, more than 90% of Americans reside within five miles of a community pharmacy, with Michigan specifically being home to more than 10,170 practicing pharmacists.
Christine Shearer of the Michigan Association of Health Plans advised the committee to add a “friendly” amendment to SB 219 requiring all immunizations approved for administration be reported to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR), “which is currently law for children now . . . so again, this would expand it to adults and everybody else to be reported to MICIR.”
SB 219 was discussed this week, but not voted on.
Former Beaumont Employees Sue Over Vaccine Mandate
Four former Beaumont Health employees filed suit challenging the hospital system’s denial of their religious accommodation exemptions from the hospital’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
The plaintiffs – Emily Barr, of Chesterfield; Carolyn Earl, of Woodhaven; Rita Hanna, of Rochester Hills; and Michael Webster, of Clarkston – allege violation of Title VII by failing to accommodate religious exemptions and disparate treatment as well as violations of the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
The suit, filed by Ann Arbor attorney Noah Hurwitz in U.S. District Court Eastern District, seeks unspecified compensatory damages for monetary and non-monetary losses as well as punitive damages and attorney fees.
A message seeking comment from the hospital’s spokesperson was not returned today.
Corewell Health, which does business as Beaumont Health, issued a vaccination mandate in late July 2021, setting a deadline for employees to receive the first dose by Oct. 20, 2021.
The plaintiffs each allege that their religious beliefs prohibit them from receiving the vaccine.
Barr, a registered nurse, noted that she became “a lot closer to God” during the pandemic and felt the vaccine was against her religious beliefs. Her exemption request was denied, as was her appeal, although the lawsuit alleges “most everyone else on our unit was approved.”
Hanna indicated that she has been Catholic for 33 years and her exemption request included a letter from her parish stating her Catholic church doesn’t oppose the vaccine, but it “does (oppose) being forced to take the vaccine.” Her request also was denied.
The plaintiffs also allege that the hospital did not respond to their requests to appeal the denial, and they further allege the hospital “never discussed reasonable accommodations,” including testing or wearing a mask.
“Plaintiffs were not recognized for their years (of) service, or for the fact that they risked their lives as frontline workers during the pandemic,” the complaint reads. “. . . Defendant assumed insincerity when the opposite should have been true.”
Abortion Medication Safe In Michigan, Despite Texas Ruling
Conflicting federal rulings regarding access to a common abortion medication has set the stage for the most significant legal wrangling on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Late Friday, Texas federal District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk halted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug Mifepristone, but less than two hours later, a federal judge in Washington ruled the FDA must keep medication abortion drugs available in more than a dozen Democratic-led states—including Michigan.
Both the Department of Justice and Danco, a manufacturer of the drug, filed notices that they will appeal the Texas judge’s ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The FDA, who approved the drug more than 20 years ago based on “a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence available and determined that it was safe,” also is appealing Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
The Texas judge paused the FDA’s approval of Mifepristone for seven days to allow the federal government to seek emergency relief from the Court of Appeals.
In a press call hosted by Protect Our Care, experts called the ruling from Kacsmaryk, who is a Trump appointee, “devasting” and likely to lead to chaos.
William Schultz, former deputy commissioner for the FDA and former general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services, said “never has a court” overturned an FDA scientific decision in approving a drug – until now.
“These are deeply scientific decisions,” he said, noting they involve medical judgments and clinical trial designs. “These are not decisions lawyers or judges are trained to make.”
Dr. Lynn Goldman, a professor and dean at Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, echoed that sentiment, noting that the public needs to trust the scientific experts who understand and can best judge the science behind drugs.
Andrew Pincus, visiting lecturer in law at Yale Law School, said that harm to women “would be very, very significant.” He said the government has valid arguments in its appeal, including that the plaintiffs lack standing because they do not prescribe or take the medication.
“There’s a clear case the FDA did not have a chance to consider (process issues),” he said. “There’s a very strong argument the (Texas) district court was just wrong.”
New State Psychiatric Hospital To Be Built In Northville
A new state-of-the-art state psychiatric hospital is to be built on the current site of Hawthorn Center on Haggerty Road in Northville.
The new hospital, which is made possible by a $325 million Fiscal Year 2023 budget allocation by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature, will care for patients currently served at both Hawthorn Center and the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland.
“We are excited to be able to provide Michigan families in need of inpatient, behavioral health care a new state-of-the-art hospital in southeastern Michigan,” said Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel. “The modern facility will allow MDHHS to continue providing quality, compassionate care to both children and adults.
“The consolidation of two of our current hospitals will also allow for efficiencies in administrative and support services while maintaining separate living and treatment facilities for adults and children,” she added.
Northville Township Supervisor Mark Abbo said the township is “pleased” to work with the state to develop the facility to “help those in our region in need, get the highest possible mental health care.”
The two facilities serve nearly 200 patients and are among the state’s five inpatient psychiatric hospitals for individuals who have severe mental illness or intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Hawthorn Center opened its doors in 1956, while Walter Reuther began operations in 1979, and needs to be replaced due to aging infrastructure.
During construction of the new facility in Northville, staff and patients currently being cared for at Hawthorn Center will be moved to a separate unit at the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital to allow for the demolition of the current Hawthorn facility.
While the new psychiatric complex will serve all ages, the hospitals will be distinct facilities with separate living and programmatic spaces for children and adults. The complex, however, will include shared administration and food service.
The construction manager for the project is the Christman Company, with design services provided by Integrated Design Solutions LLC. Construction is expected to begin this fall and anticipated completion is in 2026.
The state also operates the Caro Center, Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital, and the Center for Forensic Psychiatry, which combined serve nearly 650 patients.
The Center for Forensic Psychiatry provides diagnostic services to the criminal justice system and psychiatric treatment for criminal defendants adjudicated incompetent to stand trial or acquitted by not guilty by reason of insanity.