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Wayne County accepts MDHHS amendment to expand hearing, vision and social-determinants work
Summary
Wayne County Health Division reported an increase in state funding through an amendment to its Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) grant to expand hearing and vision screening, a home visiting program and a social determinants of health hub; commissioners approved the amendment as part of an omnibus motion.
The Wayne County Health and Human Services Committee approved Amendment 1 to the county’s FY2025 comprehensive grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to expand several public-health programs, including hearing and vision screenings, the Healthy Families America home‑visiting program, and a social determinants of health (SDOH) hub pilot.
Director of Public Health Dr. Brianna Osorio told commissioners the amendment “reanalyzed and did a new algorithm for us” that increased base funding for several programs. She said the additional money will help “right size the salary for a lot of our staff” and support the county’s Healthy Families America home‑visiting work as well as equipment updates for hearing and vision screenings.
The committee heard detailed implementation plans from Haralyn Nimmo, deputy director and chief health equity officer for the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services. Nimmo said the SDOH hub is a framework MDHHS disseminated about four years ago and that Wayne County proposed expanding outreach and infrastructure. “With that funding, we've brought on two community health workers that would help with our outreach activities,” Nimmo said. She described planned housing outreach events, increased training with the Michigan Public Health Institute, an individual SDOH assessment form for in‑person outreach, and work to coordinate referrals across county divisions.
Nimmo also described a state program to supplement food‑delivery services for SNAP recipients and said the county is building a fresh‑food delivery program. She said roughly $700,000–$750,000 of the SDOH increase is being used to expand fresh food delivery and that roughly $300,000 is earmarked for community‑health‑worker outreach and related coordination and data work.
On hearing and vision work, Dr. Osorio said the county will update screening equipment and expand partnerships to improve follow‑up care. “We're doing really well with our follow‑up rates, and we're even hosting a lot of our training for the state” at the county Health Administration Building on Van Born, she said. Osorio reported the department screened “probably over a hundred thousand kids” last year; she said about a third of those screened appear to need services and that roughly 80% of children who need follow‑up are receiving it. She credited a mobile unit and partnerships (including Vision to Learn) with boosting follow‑up, and said some mobile‑unit cohorts achieved near‑100% follow‑up where rates had been far lower in the past.
Commissioners asked for clarification on funding lines and program scope. Commissioner Tim Killeen asked whether the vaccine initiative was attached; staff said it was not. Commissioners also requested notice materials for the public about the vision program schedule and asked staff to share flyers when available. Nimmo said the county is preparing a countywide community health needs assessment and a population‑level action plan to guide work across Wayne County.
The amendment was approved as part of a bundled motion covering agenda items 1–4. The motion was moved by Commissioner Monique Baker McCormick and supported by Commissioner Anderson; the committee approved the omnibus motion by tablet vote (tally not specified).
The health staff said additional details on scheduling, the county needs assessment and program flyers will be provided to commissioners when available.
