News

Male filling out tax form

The important role of human-centered design in healthcare 

By: Kimberly Snodgrass, Cleoniki Kesidis In 2023, with Medicaid renewals at the forefront of state health and human service department operations, we’re thinking a lot about how to create easy-to-use systems that allow people to demonstrate their eligibility for Medicaid. Without easy-to-use systems, many are losing Medicaid insurance for administrative or procedural reasons–even if they remain eligible. Data shows that …

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Melissa Riba

How CHRT’s program evaluation team helps organizations create successful, sustainable programs

CHRT’s program evaluation team works with stakeholders to design, analyze, synthesize, and report on evaluations. They aim to improve programs by assessing progress, demonstrating impact, and developing lessons learned. We sat down with Melissa Riba, the program evaluation team lead, to learn more about the team’s projects, purpose, and intended impact. What are some of the challenges CHRT’s program evaluation …

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Joshua Traylor

Joshua Traylor named executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation

Joshua Traylor, MPH, senior director at the Health Care Transformation Task Force in Washington, DC, has been named executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), an independent nonprofit policy center at the University of Michigan. Traylor will take the helm on November 1. “The board was unanimous and enthusiastic about selecting Joshua Traylor for the role …

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Ashya Smith

Introducing CHRT’s 2023 Rebecca Copeland Interns: Jennie Scheerer and Ashya Smith

We are pleased to announce that Jennie Scheerer and Ashya Smith have been chosen to serve as CHRT’s 2023 Rebecca Copeland Interns.  Jennie Scheerer will primarily work with CHRT’s health policy and research and evaluation teams. She is interested in the intersection between maternal and reproductive health, anti-racism, and U.S. domestic policy.   “Everyone with a uterus should have access to …

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New team members

CHRT welcomes four new team members

Since our last newsletter, CHRT has welcomed four new team members.  Jadrienne Horton Jadrienne Horton is a project manager for CHRT’s research and evaluation team. Horton previously interned with the team through the American Evaluation Association’s 2022-2023 Graduate Education Diversity Internship program, assisting with the Year 1 Evaluation Report for the Washtenaw County Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection (LEADD) …

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AI diagram of interconnected health images

In The Media, MI Mental Health, Second Wave Media: Regional Health Collaboratives work to improve behavioral healthcare

The Promotion of Health Equity Project engages six Regional Health Collaboratives — care coordination programs designed to improve a region’s wellbeing – to address health-related social needs and establish a framework for statewide expansion.  A recent MI Mental Health Series article by Estelle Slootmaker, “Regional Health Collaboratives improving access to behavioral health services,” discusses the goals of these six collaboratives …

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Female health care worker filling out chart of adjacent older female

In The Media, Issue Media Group: MI Mental Health interviews Ayse Buyuktur about the importance of community health workers

CHRT’s Ayse Büyüktür, program manager for the MI Community Care (MiCC) program, recently spoke with MI Mental Health about the extensive work community health workers do to support the behavioral health needs of residents. Across the state, community mental health agencies enlist community health workers to extend their reach, writes reporter Rylee Barnsdale in “Community health workers bring mental health …

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Sharon Kim

Introducing CHRT’s new health and social equity team: A Q&A with Sharon Kim

In March, the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) launched a new team focused on health and social equity. Though each of CHRT’s teams applies a health and social equity lens to their projects, CHRT desired a specific team to manage major programs under the health and social equity banner, while offering support to clients in pursuit of more …

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An older person in a wheelchair touching tall grass

CHRT explores the individual and environmental factors linked to healthy aging for people with long-term disabilities

Since 2018, CHRT has worked closely with one of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDLRR) rehabilitation research and training centers (RRTC). The project, Investigating Disability factors and promoting Environmental Access for Healthy Living (IDEAL), aims to promote healthy aging for people with long-term physical disabilities.  What we’ve done For the IDEAL RRTC, housed within the …

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Green felt brain next to green mental health awareness ribbon

In The Media: Michigan’s CCBHCs open mental health access to all

CHRT’s work evaluating Michigan’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) was highlighted in a Second Wave Media article, “Michigan’s CCBHCs open mental health access to all.” The article features interviews with CHRT team members Erica Matti, senior health policy analyst, and Jonathan Tsao, research and evaluation project manager.  CCBHCs provide whole-person care and aim to consider all aspects of a …

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