Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the state is moving quickly to get COVID-19 vaccine doses to primary-care doctors to extend vaccinations to young people ages 12-15 and also those adults who haven't yet been vaccinated.

Experts say hospitals are advertising coronavirus vaccinations primarily as public service announcements, since higher vaccination rates will reduce community spread of COVID-19 and save lives. But the secondary message to customers has the potential of burnishing hospitals' brands.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Michigan companies have been facing more severe staffing shortages. They have seen volume decline by as much as 40% as people choose not to call 911 to avoid potential coronavirus exposure at hospitals and inter-facility transfers have slowed.

Emergency doctors and nurses in Michigan are seeing a massive increase in patients seeking care in hospital EDs, a mixture of ailments not seen before in previous COVID-19 surges.

Statewide, four hospitals have reached 100% bed capacity and 15 more have exceeded 90%, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

On Monday, Michigan hospitals reported 3,918 COVID-positive patients occupying about 18% of hospital beds across the state, surpassing the fall peak of 3,884 on Dec. 1.

Procedures delayed included nonessential surgeries, including postponing a range of cardiology, cosmetic, bariatric and orthopedic elective procedures.

Experts say Michigan's surge in hospital admissions was expected as positive cases started to creep up in early February. But few expected the state to lead the nation in positive cases per 100,000 residents.

As COVID-19 infection rates rise steeply in Detroit and across Michigan, the state's biggest city isn't leading the pack on response like it once was.

The move comes after Beaumont outsourced the nurse anesthetists to a new company, and they hope to advocate for staffing ratios and greater patient-safety measures.

Despite the ongoing pandemic and diminished patient volume, nearly $800 million of federal COVID-19 stimulus money helped to make 2020 a profitable year for six-hospital Henry Ford Health System and eight-hospital Beaumont Health, according to the two Michigan health systems' financial statements.

A cardiologist once part of William Beaumont Hospital's so-called "Royal Family" of doctors and his practice have paid $2 million to settle false claims allegations related to excessive or unnecessary diagnostic testing over 12 years.

The Democratic governor and former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director mutually agreed to waive the confidentiality provision of Robert Gordon's earlier separation agreement "in the interest of greater transparency,"

A multi-agency study on the use of telehealth services for behavioral healthcare in Wayne County found widespread support for continued and expanded use of virtual care.

Michigan's 10 most populous counties collectively received about 3,400 fewer first doses of COVID-19 vaccine last week after the state applied a formula that factors in race, poverty, housing and other social vulnerabilities instead of allocating vaccine doses by share of population.