Munson Medical Center Collaborates with Community Hospitals, Michigan Medicine for Study to Improve Equity in Pediatric Healthcare
 

Traverse City, Mich. – Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, MyMichigan Medical Center in Alpena, and Covenant Children’s Hospital in Saginaw have recently announced their commitment to a quality collaborative designed to identify and address equity issues for pediatric patients and their families receiving care at their hospitals. Researchers from Michigan Medicine will assist local teams, who will lead the initiative.   
 

The new collaborative, Michigan Community Hospitals Improving Equity for Children (Mi-CHIME), is coordinated by Michigan Medicine researchers and funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, a philanthropic foundation that works to improve the health and wellness of Michigan residents.
 

"As the pediatric leader in our region, Munson Medical Center is proud to collaborate with Mi-CHIME to improve equity in pediatric healthcare across Michigan," said Dr. Joe Santangelo, Chief Medical Officer for Munson Healthcare and Pediatrician. "As the largest hospital serving all of Northern Michigan, we are committed to providing the best care possible for our kids. This initiative will make us better and our communities healthier long-term.”
 

Mi-CHIME's leaders define equity issues as those within the control of the health system, either in the care patients receive or in the patient/family's experience at the identified hospital. Equity issues could include differences in how patients and their families are treated relative to their gender, race and ethnicity, income, ability status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, weight status, and more. These issues have been studied frequently in adults; however, there is limited research on them in pediatric populations, and even fewer interventions to address equity issues for kids.
 

“We are pleased to be able to work with other healthcare partners and the University of Michigan to look at the care we provide through a new lens,” said Dr. Jacques Burgess, Medical Director of Pediatrics and Pediatrician. “We believe that everyone should have access to a just opportunity to be as healthy as possible – this partnership embodies that commitment.”

Mi-CHIME is designed to engage the three collaborating hospitals in identifying and measuring potential healthcare inequities within their organizations. Mi-CHIME facilitates the shared identification of topics for study, research methods to determine if an inequity exists, and data and quality improvement strategies across the collaborating hospitals to support the process. If the presence of an inequity is verified through a rigorous process, Mi-CHIME will work in a collaborative fashion across the hospitals to develop and implement specific quality improvement interventions. Findings from Mi- CHIME will be disseminated to inform local, state, and national decision makers to provide actionable steps to identify and address inequities. Ultimately, the goal is to improve equity in pediatric care for all.

Mi-CHIME is modeled after another Michigan Medicine-facilitated quality collaborative, the Michigan Child Health Equity Collaborative (Mi-CHEC), which consists of the three largest pediatric hospitals in Michigan: C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, and Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. To date, Mi-CHEC has explored three areas of potential inequity in pediatric care: race/ethnicity verification in electronic medical records; arrival-to-discharge time for patients in emergency services; and use of restraints in the emergency department.

"Mi-CHEC has given us an excellent blueprint to follow," said Susan Woolford, M.D., M.P.H., the associate director of Mi-CHIME and Mi-CHEC and an associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School. "Both of these collaborations have the potential to improve health outcomes for Michigan’s children and to be a model for other states nationwide."

Munson Medical Center is a regional referral center for all northern Michigan. The 442-bed hospital is part of the largest healthcare system in northern Michigan and has earned a national reputation for top quality care and has the only neonatal intensive care unit in northern Michigan.

For more information on Mi-CHIME, visit michime.org
 

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CONTACT:
Ashlee Bartleson                                                                    
Senior Corporate Communications Specialist                    
Munson Healthcare                                                               
616-260-0622 (cell)               
abartleson@mhc.net