About CHRT

Current Projects

In addition to CHRT’s cornerstone programs–the health policy fellowship, the Washtenaw Health Initiative, and the physician and consumer surveys–CHRT regularly manages mission-relevant research, demonstration, and educational projects with funding from public sector partners, as well as paid consulting projects for public and private sector clients.

Developing a community integrated health network to address the social needs of seniors in southeast Michigan

Client(s): Administration for Community Living, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
Need: The Vital Seniors Initiative (VSI), with a goal of spurring systemic improvements to county senior services, was funded in 2019 by the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. The original VSI grantees were joined…
CHRT's Role: With the ACL and Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation grants, CHRT will help the collaborative increase capacity through leadership, management, operations, and strategy; will help the network with legal contracting requirements, coordinated payments, a consistent referral process, and data sharing; onboard new partners…
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CHRT Health Policy Fellowship: Training Nonprofit Fellows

Client(s): Michigan Health Endowment Fund
Need: In Michigan and nationally, the nonprofit sector plays a critical and ever-increasing role in research and advocacy around health care delivery and public policy. Including the perspective of nonprofits in our annual Health Policy Fellowship…
CHRT's Role: Thanks to support from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Center for Health and Research Transformation is including nonprofit leaders as part of the 2020 Health Policy Fellowship class. Reflecting the growing importance and increased interest of the non-profit sector in health policy, the inclusion of policy fellows…
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neon sign reads

Helping Michigan communities determine how to maximize the impact of opioid settlement dollars

Client(s): Michigan Opioid Partnership
Need: In February 2022, the United States reached a $26 billion opioid settlement agreement with the nation’s three largest pharmaceutical companies. Following the agreement, the State of Michigan received an $800 million share of the national opioid…
CHRT's Role: The Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) will provide settlement recipient communities across Michigan with information about evidence-based, evidence-informed, and promising best practices for programs to address gaps in care experienced by Michigan residents. CHRT will conduct a comprehensive environmental…
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Developing Community Paramedicine programs in underserved regions across Michigan

Expanding community paramedicine and mobile integrated health in mid-Michigan

Client(s): Mobile Medical Response (MMR)
Need: Mobile Medical Response (MMR), a nonprofit ambulance company that operates in mid-Michigan, is interested in launching a community paramedicine/mobile integrated health program within their organization. CHRT will work alongside MMR to provide…
CHRT's Role: CHRT will: Conduct an environmental scan of the regions served by MMR to identify existing ancillary and out of hospital services and where there are gaps in medical and social care. Conduct a needs analysis in the communities identified through the environmental scan as potential sites…
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Abstract representation mental health crisis system with connected knobs

Applying complex systems modeling to understand and strengthen Washtenaw County’s local acute mental health crisis care system

Client(s): University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry
Need: Communities across the state and nation are struggling to respond to mental health crises quickly and with positive outcomes for those in crisis. A shortage of mental health providers, staffed inpatient beds, and other systems problems create…
CHRT's Role: The CHRT team will 1) assist in identifying the sources of local data–from community mental health, law enforcement, education, and other organizations–to help UNC researchers build the Washtenaw-specific model, and 2) serve as project manager for the research.
Staff:
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A caregiver who puts an elderly person in a Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) needs and recommendations for older adults

Client(s): Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)
Need: Both Medicaid recipients and non-Medicaid users rely on NEMT for medical and behavioral health visits, yet access to it can be challenging. A written policy brief will uncover the scope of transportation needs…
CHRT's Role: CHRT staff will be reviewing relevant literature and available data on the purpose and use of NEMT and conducting stakeholder interviews to understand the specific needs in our community and innovative solutions that may be applicable to Washtenaw County residents. The brief will be disseminated…
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Female caregiver and elderly woman smiling at one another

Equity in health and functioning for adults from marginalized communities with physical, cognitive, sensory and developmental disabilities

Client(s): University of Michigan Center for Disability Health and Wellness
Need: Through a newly funded Equity Center, the University of Michigan Center for Disability Health and Wellness (CDHW) will collaborate with outside organizations and investigators dedicated to enhancing the health and functioning of individuals…
CHRT's Role: The Equity Center will partner with the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) at the University of Michigan to enhance the capacity of trainees, community organizations, and researchers across the United States to create evidence-based policy changes related to equity and disability health. CHRT will conduct…
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Promoting social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19

Client(s): Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
Need: The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a consortium of more than 750 academic institutions and research organizations, has been selected by the National Institutes of Health to coordinate social, behavioral,…
CHRT's Role: CHRT will support ICPSR and the consortium grantees by developing research briefs, infographics, blogs, and other publications to share research findings, activities, and resources.
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Coordinating medical care and social services for residents with complex needs and reducing health disparities

Client(s): Michigan Medicine Collaborative Quality Improvement (CQI) Initiative
Need: The Health Equity Project aims to help reduce health disparities for those with pressing social needs such as housing instability, food insecurity, transportation, health system complexity, and other socioeconomic factors by: (1) supporting…
CHRT's Role: The Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) provides backbone support to the local work in Washtenaw and Livingston counties and leads a multi-region learning community to identify ways to share best practices and accelerate progress, and to advance connections with statewide quality initiatives. CHRT will…
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Smiling young black lady shows her name tag to an elderly person who is standing by her/his door.

Promoting health equity by identifying and addressing the social needs of patients in five Michigan counties

Client(s): Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Need: The Promotion of Health Equity Initiative aims to develop a statewide infrastructure for SDOH data collection, analytics, and reporting to better identify and understand disparities and leverage data and community partnerships to help enhance…
CHRT's Role: CHRT provides backbone support to the four participating regions in the Promotion of Health Equity project, mobilizing and coordinating efforts and helping establish shared communications and reporting. CHRT has financial fiduciary responsibilities to Michigan Medicine for the funding of the participating regions. CHRT…
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