Emergency Room Health Care Report Card

A new report from emergency doctors says government support for emergency care went from bad to worse in Michigan between 2009 and today.

 The report was released by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

 Michigan ranked 43rd in the country in 2009 and dropped to 46th place in this year's report. Michigan received an overall grade of D.

 The state did show improvements in the category of Quality and Patient Safety, but received a failing grade in the category of Access to Emergency Care.

 The report says that while the state has high per capita rates of emergency physicians, it has below average rates of specialists, such as orthopedists and hand surgeons; plastic surgeons; and ear, nose, and throat specialists.

 In addition, Michigan lacks an adequate supply of psychiatric beds.

 As a result, the physicians recommend more medical specialists in the state.   They also recommend reinstating the requirement that all motorcycle riders wear a helmet.