Michigan

Michigan is surrounded by four of the Great Lakes and has the longest shoreline in the continental United States. The state's name is taken from the Indian word “Michigama,” meaning great or large lake. It is the only state made up of two peninsulas, the lower "Mitten" and the Upper Peninsula, or U.P. Michigan covers 56,804 square miles, with a 2015 estimated population of 9,922,576 people – 1,799,548 living in rural Michigan (USDA-ERS). Lansing, the capital, is located in the middle of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. The state’s largest cities are Detroit, Grand Rapids and Warren. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 79.7% of the state’s population is white, 14.2% is African-American/Black, 3.0% is Asian, and 4.9% is of Hispanic/Latino origin (U.S. Census, 2015).

Michigan Rural Healthcare Facilities

There are 148 hospitals in Michigan (Kaiser, 2014). The state has 36 hospitals identified as Critical Access Hospitals (Flex Team, 12/2015). There are 181 Rural Health Clinics in Michigan (CMS, 2015), and 36 Federally Qualified Health Centers provide services at 204 sites in the state (NACHC, 2014).

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Michigan

Most Michiganians have some form of health insurance coverage, although 7% of the state's residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2014). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per-capita income for Michiganians in 2014 was $40,740, although rural per-capita income lagged at $34,268. The ERS reports, based on 2010-2014 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Michigan is 17.4%, compared with 16.8% in urban areas of the state. 10.9% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 10.7% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2010-2014 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Michigan is at 5.8% while in urban Michigan it is at 5.3% (USDA-ERS, 2015).

Data Sources
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Rural Health Clinic List; Flex Monitoring Team: Critical Access Hospital List; Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts; National Association of Community Health Centers: Key Health Center Data By State; U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts; USDA Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets

Contacts

There are more organizations related to Michigan in the organizations section.