Michigan

Addiction counselor shortage hits Michigan hard: ‘We’re all struggling’ – Bridge Michigan

Published

2 months ago

May 25, 2026

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Addiction counselor shortage hits Michigan hard: ‘We’re all struggling’ – Bridge Michigan

Michigan ranks 38th nationally in terms of addiction counselors per person with an addiction
Heads of treatment organizations pinpoint high turnover and low funding as perpetuating the shortage
Many providers doubt Michigan’s addiction treatment system is sustainable in the long term

Alyssa Montague is no stranger to being overworked.

Until recently, Montague, the community engagement manager at Ten16 Recovery Network–Midland, was taking on the work of multiple people. So was the therapist who works under her.

“He was slammed,” she said. “I was slammed.”

Now, for the first time since early 2024, her team is fully staffed. But other addiction treatment organizations across the state aren’t as lucky.

As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage Michigan, the state’s addiction treatment workforce faces a shortage that hinders its ability to effectively respond, providers say.

Michigan ranks 38th nationally in terms of addiction treatment staffing, with 7.58 addiction treatment counselors per 1,000 people with a substance use disorder, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Indiana sits at the top of the DHHS ranking, with 16.54 counselors per 1,000 people with a substance use disorder, and the US median is 8.79 counselors per 1,000 people with a substance use disorder.

Michigan has taken steps to alleviate counselors’ financial woes, offering $12.3 million through its behavioral health student loan repayment program through 2024 and $3.7 million to repay addiction treatment providers’ student loans. Beginning this summer, DHHS will provide internship and scholarship opportunities to incentivize new providers to become addiction treatment counselors.

Some organizations were fully staffed before the coronaviruspandemic, according to Paula Nelson, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center, which has locations across the state.

But, during the pandemic, many addiction treatment counselors experienced burnout and left the field, and many others retired early, according to Nikki Soda, of Sodas Consulting. Providers couldn’t attract enough new counselors to fill the dearth.

“Post-pandemic behavioral health demand increased way faster than the workforce development could, because we saw a significant spike in usage during COVID,” said Soda.

Ten16 Recovery Network–Midland is one of many addiction treatment facilities in Michigan. (Nate Miller/Bridge Michigan)

An estimated 1.3 million Michiganders with a substance disorder including alcoholism did not receive addiction treatment in 2024, according to the most recent data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. The vast majority of those people don’t seek treatment, but providers say the workforce shortage makes it hard to meet the needs of those who do.

One Michigander dies from an opioid overdose roughly every six hours.

As Bridge has previously reported, Michigan has among the fewest behavioral health vocational programs in the nation. That substantially weakens the student-to-worker pipeline and means fewer people are being trained to help alleviate the worker deficit.

The shortage means that, instead of receiving dedicated attention from their providers, people in addiction treatment often feel they are told to “go figure it out,” said Josh Puckett, a peer recovery coach at Recovery Action Network of Michigan.

High-stress demands

Multiple factors perpetuate the shortage.

One is that working in addiction treatment isn’t easy: Counselors face high rates of burnout and secondary trauma. They deal every day with people at the lowest points in their lives.

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” said Anthony Dondero, an addiction treatment counselor at Hegira Health, which has locations around Wayne County. “I had to really wrap my head around and really process the fact that more of my clients are going to pass away from the disease that I’m treating than if I were treating just general mental health.”

High stress contributes to the high rates of turnover treatment organizations see.

Nelson said Sacred Heart saw 39% turnover of therapists and counselors over the past fiscal year, while its residential treatment program saw 62% turnover.

High turnover has affected the addiction treatment field for years, with average national rates above 30%. The turnover rate for all industries in the US was 3.4% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We’re constantly having to retrain people,” said Nelson.

However, finding qualified staff is extremely difficult, especially in Michigan’s rural areas.

“Ten years ago, when we’d advertise a clinical position in some of our rural communities … we still would get a handful of resumes,” said Sam Price, president and CEO of Ten16, which has locations across central Michigan. “Now, the competition is so fierce we can run an ad for three weeks and not even get a qualified applicant.”

Educational hurdles, low wages

To obtain their full license, counselors must be certified by the Michigan Certification Board for Addiction Professionals. While many organizations require their addiction treatment counselors to have master’s degrees, counselors can legally practice with less formal education if they are certified by the state board.

Counselors can practice without being certified as long as they are working toward their full license, which can take up to three years.

However, Nelson said, “Typically, after they get their full license, they move on to other opportunities.”

Many leave to provide mental health services, which often require less administrative work.

That leaves addiction treatment centers short-staffed, counselors overworked and patients in need of more attention than they can get. Because of high turnover rates, the attention they can get often comes from counselors new to the field, who can be ill-equipped to manage the complex needs of patients in addiction care, said Greg Toutant, CEO of Great Lakes Recovery Centers, which is based in the Upper Peninsula.

Dealing with the multifaceted needs of patients in addiction treatment is something, he said, “these newer counselors, (who) are making up the majority of the field, maybe don’t have all the expertise to handle.”

Also contributing to the shortage is low salaries.

While some private, for-profit therapy settings can pay up to $120,000 a year, said Montague, addiction treatment nonprofits, which are funded by both Medicaid and private insurance, can pay much less. The average base annual salary of addiction treatment counselors is $50,506, according to Payscale.

Providers struggling nationally

According to Thuy Nguyen, director of the Michigan Public Health Substance Use Policy and Economic Research Network, while staffing numbers at outpatient office-based mental health specialists bounced back from reductions during the coronavirus pandemic, intensive mental health facilities, such as those for addiction treatment, “struggled to rebuild their workforce.”

That is because, compared to before the pandemic, “the lasting strain on the health care system has unfortunately made becoming a health care provider less attractive than it had been,” said Dan Schwartz, vice president of public policy at the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare.

That might have been because outpatient settings are lower-risk environments in terms of COVID-19 transmission, or because they are less stressful compared to intensive settings like inpatient addiction treatment.

Additionally complicating the shortage, said Schwartz, is that too few people are being trained to work in addiction treatment, across the board.

And because of broad Medicaid cuts spelled out in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Congress passed last year, Schwartz said he doesn’t anticipate the national shortage improving anytime soon. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects that, by 2038, the US will be short more than 77,000 addiction counselors.

Medicaid cuts also greatly affect who can receive access to care.

“One of the most significant challenges is access to care for uninsured Michigan residents, who remain the most underserved population,” DHHS said in a statement. “Federal and state funding to support uninsured individuals has not kept pace with demand.”

Some support has come from the federal level in the form of the Opioid Workforce Expansion Program, which provides funding to train students in addiction treatment settings.

Some states have dealt with the shortage better than others. Nguyen cited Massachusetts as a role model for other states recovering from pandemic-era reductions. Since 2022, the state has provided more than $270 million to repay loans of direct care providers including addiction treatment professionals, alleviating some of their financial strain.

‘Wake up’

Treatment organizations across Michigan have trouble imagining a future for addiction treatment centers without an overhaul of the existing system.

“A couple years ago, I said we can’t continue this for any more than five years, and I still believe that,” Nelson, of Sacred Heart, said.

Toutant, of Great Lakes Recovery Centers, said addiction treatment providers across the state must unite to move away from the current reimbursement model.

“I don’t think there’s been enough voices to rise up in opposition to say to the state of Michigan, … ‘Wake up,’” he said. “The workforce problem will not change unless the financing model changes.”

“We recognize the challenges providers are facing, which is why the state continues to invest in recruitment, retention and provider capacity efforts to strengthen Michigan’s addiction treatment workforce,” DHHS said in a statement.

If provider facilities close, and Michiganders who need addiction treatment are increasingly unable to access it, the state will see “more hospitalizations and deaths,” said Kenneth Hammond Jr., a board member of MAADAC, the Michigan Association for Addiction Professionals. “More individuals will be incarcerated without these services being available to them.”

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Michigan

Michigan health expert talks impact of Canadian wildfire smoke: There’s really a long list of who is at risk”

Published

3 hours ago

July 16, 2026

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Michigan health expert talks impact of Canadian wildfire smoke: There’s really a long list of who is at risk”

July 16, 2026 / 12:08 AM EDT
/ CBS Detroit

The current air quality in Michigan has doctors, especially cardiologists, concerned for their patients.

Dr. Herb Aronow, the chair of heart and vascular health at Henry Ford Health, says unhealthy air affects everyone with heart and vascular diseases, even those who haven’t been diagnosed yet.

“There’s really a long list of who is at risk,” said Aronow.

That’s why Aronow wants people to be aware and prepared. While many may think breathing in unhealthy air will only impact your lungs, Aronow says wildfires produce microscopic particles that can get into your blood.

“Once they are there, they create problems with inflammation and other mechanisms and we all know inflammation leads to heart disease and can lead to those with heart disease to have events,” said Aronow.

Aronow says this could lead to someone needing emergency care, but there are ways to protect yourself.

“If you have a symptom that’s suspicious for heart disease, you need to seek attention immediately, and more often than not, that’s means you need to call 911,” said Aronow.

The best way to avoid harmful air is to stay in an air-conditioned space. If you have an indoor air filter that can also reduce the poor air coming into your home.

“If you already have heart or blood vessel disease and you need to be outdoors for some reason is that you can wear a N95 respirator an N95 mask. Those are very effective,” said Aronow.

If you must go outside, check the air quality at the location you are at or plan to visit.

In:

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Michigan

University of Michigan’s David C. Miller chosen to succeed Jeff Balser as Vanderbilt Health’s President and CEO and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Published

15 hours ago

July 15, 2026

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University of Michigan’s David C. Miller chosen to succeed Jeff Balser as Vanderbilt Health’s President and CEO and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

David C. Miller, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of Michigan Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs for the University of Michigan, has been chosen to succeed Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, as the next President and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Miller will assume the role at Vanderbilt on Jan. 1, 2027.

Earlier this year, Balser announced plans to retire on Dec. 31, after serving Vanderbilt in both leadership roles for nearly two decades.

Miller’s selection as the new senior leader for Vanderbilt Health (VH) and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) finalizes an extensive national search by the VH Board of Directors to identify Balser’s successor.

“From an incredibly strong field of applicants, Dr. Miller’s personal warmth, prior leadership experiences, and commitment to organizational culture stood out. David has presented an exciting vision for advancing the Medical Center’s missions and is the ideal candidate to succeed Dr. Balser. We look forward to welcoming David, his wife, Inge, and family to the Nashville community,” said Edie Carell Johnson, JD, Chair of the VH Board of Directors.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to again express my deep appreciation to Dr. Balser for his many years of dedication to the Medical Center’s growth and success. Jeff will be remembered for his commitment to excellence and as a leader whose contributions will continue to impact generations of patients and families now and into the future.”

Miller has spent the bulk of his career with the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine where he has held a variety of administrative and academic roles and has been instrumental in enhancing quality, safety and patient experience and expanding access to health care services across Michigan through operational growth and strategic partnerships.

Similar in size and scale to Vanderbilt Health, Michigan Medicine is a statewide academic health system with 12 hospitals, 5,800 clinicians, 2,500 physicians-in-training, 97,000 annual discharges, 4.7 million outpatient visits and $820 million in annual research awards.

As the new leader of VH and VUSM, Miller will be responsible for shaping the institution’s core missions of advancing health care delivery, scientific discovery, health care training and education, and community engagement while championing a culture of collaboration, service and clinical excellence amidst a period of rapid growth.

“Serving as CEO and Dean has been tremendously rewarding, and I’m forever grateful for everyone’s support. I want to congratulate Dr. Miller and welcome him into the Vanderbilt family,” said Balser. “David is a seasoned leader with deep, career-long experience in our core missions of health care, research and teaching. He joins us at an exciting and transformative moment in history. I am confident he will sustain our positive momentum while nurturing the distinctive and caring culture we all treasure.”

Miller will be responsible for the development, implementation and fulfillment of strategies spanning VH and VUSM and will be central to maintaining the scholarly activities shared by the Medical Center and University.

“Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Health together form one of the largest and most eminent research enterprises in American higher education — one that turns discovery into better treatments and educates the next generation of physicians and scientists,” said Daniel Diermeier, PhD, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University. “Our School of Medicine sits at the heart of that work, which is why this appointment matters well beyond our campus. I am delighted to welcome Dr. Miller as its Dean and a partner in this transformative work, and I look forward to what we will accomplish together.”

Prior to his service as the CEO of Michigan Medicine, Miller served as Executive Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs for the University of Michigan Medical School and President of U-M Health, a clinical enterprise with approximately 20,000 employees caring for more than 1.3 million patients, where he oversaw all aspects of strategic, operational, clinical, cultural and financial performance. During his tenure at Michigan Medicine, Miller also led the clinical, business and cultural integration of the statewide academic health system.

Before serving as U-M Health’s President, Miller served as Chief Clinical Officer for Michigan Medicine’s University Hospital and the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. As a Professor in the Department of Urology, he also maintained a clinical practice focused on the diagnosis and management of patients with prostate cancer.

Miller has been awarded research funding for urologic cancer by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Cancer Society. A frequently invited speaker on urologic cancer, Miller is the author or co-author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, editorials and abstracts. In addition to his clinical practice, Miller served as Director of the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) from 2011 through 2020, a coalition of more than 40 urology practices improving urological care in Michigan.

“I am honored to be named the leader of one of the most highly regarded academic health care organizations in the country,” Miller said. “Vanderbilt is synonymous with exemplary patient care and world-leading innovation and medical education; I am humbled to be following in Dr. Balser’s footsteps. I am eager to begin meeting faculty, staff and students to learn what makes Vanderbilt such an exceptional organization with an unparalleled culture. My wife, Inge, and I are also excited about getting to know Nashville and the entire state.”

Miller earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan, Doctor of Medicine from Washington University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health with emphasis in epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. His residency training in urology was at the University of Michigan, followed by a health services research and clinical fellowship in urologic oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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AIPAC draws ire of half of Michigan Democratic voters in new poll

Published

1 day ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

AIPAC draws ire of half of Michigan Democratic voters in new poll

About half of likely Michigan Democratic primary voters hold an unfavorable view of the pro-Israel group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to a new statewide poll, but respondents overall didn’t rate a candidate’s position on Israel and Gaza as of great importance when choosing a Senate nominee.

“It is not of high interest, despite the national narrative,” pollster Richard Czuba said, referring to national news coverage of the Michigan U.S. Senate contest.

“As you ask voters to look across the spectrum about issues that matter to them, this isn’t one of them.”

The Detroit News/WDIV-TV (Channel 4) poll of 500 likely Michigan Democratic primary voters was conducted last week by Czuba’s Glengariff Group and had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points.

A majority of respondents said antisemitism against Jewish Americans has risen, that they support both a Palestinian state and Israel’s right to exist, and believe Israel has “gone too far” in its war against the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Overall, the likely Michigan Democratic primary voters rated a Senate candidate’s position on Israel and Gaza at 5.6 on a 10-point scale. Czuba said a measurement over 7 usually indicates some level of importance, while 8 is considered demonstrating a high level of importance.

Supporters of Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor rated the issue a 6, while those backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham rated it 5.2. Undecided voters in the survey were at 5.7.

“That’s not surprising to me at all,” said consultant Adrian Hemond, a Democrat and CEO of Grassroots Midwest.

“It’s hard to get Americans to care about foreign policy while American troops are not getting shot, and that’s not happening right now. That’s not to say they don’t care about it at all, but in terms of what influences their voting behavior? Nah.”

Half of Michigan Democrats sour on AIPAC

Israel and Gaza have been a point of contrast and contention between El-Sayed and Stevens: Stevens is a staunch supporter of Israel who has voted for U.S. military aid for that country, while El-Sayed has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. He wants to end the U.S. practice of subsidizing foreign militaries, including Israel’s.

El-Sayed has also repeatedly hit Stevens on the $49 million of outside spending — including $26 million from an AIPAC-aligned group — that’s flowed into the race to help boost her bid, according to recent ad-tracking figures.

“Explain what you’ve given away for AIPAC support in this race,” El-Sayed demanded in last week’s televised debate in Grand Rapids.

“No one owns my vote, and no one owns my policies,” Stevens shot back.

In the debate last week, Stevens pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of her and said Netanyahu had “failed” in securing long-term peace and in providing humanitarian aid in Gaza. The remark appeared to be an effort to put some distance between herself and the support she’s getting from AIPAC that has turned off some Democrats.

“I can say that Israel has a right to peacefully exist alongside the people of Palestine and in Gaza,” she said.

The poll conducted last week found that 49% of Democratic primary voters have an unfavorable opinion of AIPAC. About 12% view AIPAC favorably, and 39% were neutral ― with no opinion of the pro-Israel lobby group ― or said they didn’t know. About 34% of voters expressed a “very” unfavorable opinion of AIPAC.

About 65% of El-Sayed’s supporters expressed an unfavorable view of AIPAC, with 8% favorable and 26% neutral, while fewer Stevens’ voters, 38%, view AIPAC unfavorably and 16.5% favorably, with 45% neutral.

The group does not seem to be a motivating issue for undecided voters, 65% of whom were neutral on AIPAC, according to poll results.

“What this issue has become is virtue-signaling to the far left that you’re one of us,” Czuba said of AIPAC opposition.

Scott Cruz, 61, of South Lyon, said he learned about AIPAC about six months ago, but has been concerned for decades about the amount of money the U.S. gives to Israel. In more recent years, what started as Israel’s understandable response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas has advanced far beyond that, said Cruz, who participated in the poll.

“Just too nuts, man. Hatfields and McCoys, I don’t care,” Cruz said of the Israel-Gaza conflict. “They (Israel) had the moral high ground for a minute there and then said, ‘Let’s blow it.’”

Michelle Miller-Adams, a 66-year-old Kalamazoo resident and political scientist who also participated in the poll, said she considers herself a politically progressive Jew.

She said she understands the criticism of Israel’s leadership but is worried that opposition to Israel and AIPAC is mixing dangerously with an increase in antisemitism.

“I’m not a fan of AIPAC,” Miller-Adams said. “But I think AIPAC has been demonized among all the PACs and has been misrepresented. AIPAC gets singled out for criticism in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.”

Rebecca Cunningham, an 83-year-old Detroit resident, said she’s voting for Stevens because of her prior experience at the federal level. She’s aware of a debate over Israel and is concerned by the U.S. government’s actions there, but she doesn’t believe those concerns are the only factors in determining her vote.

“I’d have to look at the whole picture,” Cunningham said. “In my mind, I’m not really clear why we’re over there fighting. We have enough issues in the United States we could put our attention to.”

Alignment among Michigan Democrats on Mideast issues

The survey of Michigan Democrats showed they are largely in agreement on issues related to the Middle East, including 63% of whom support the creation of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza. Another 15% said they oppose a Palestinian state, while 22% said it would depend or they didn’t know.

Notably, 78% of El-Sayed supporters favor a Palestinian state with 13% unsure, compared with 51% of Stevens’ voters in support of an independent state with 26% unsure. Undecided voters fell between the two, with 61% for an independent state and 38.5% unsure.

A large majority of Democrats surveyed, nearly 77%, said Israel has a right to exist as a country, while 12% are opposed and 12% of voters were unsure or said it depends.

On this question, 67% of self-identified Democratic Socialists said they support Israel’s right to exist, while 30% are opposed, and 2% said they’re unsure or it depends. Nearly 21% of Democratic Socialists said they “strongly” oppose Israel’s right to exist.

El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, pivoted last week when he was asked on CNN if Israel has a right to exist.

“The question about a right to exist is interesting, because nobody’s ever asked me whether I believe Palestine has a right to exist. Every single president who’s served has said they believe in a two-state solution,” El-Sayed said.

“Israel exists. The question is whether we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to fund genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”

Nearly 70% of poll respondents said Israel’s actions against Hamas and Hezbollah have “gone too far.” About 3% said they’ve not gone far enough, and 13% said they’ve been about right, while 15% were unsure, according to the survey.

About 21% of Stevens’ supporters in the survey said Israel’s actions were about right, as opposed to 6% of El-Sayed voters and 2% of undecided voters.

About two in three likely Michigan Democratic voters said antisemitism against Jewish Americans has increased over the past two years, and 3% said it’s declined. Nearly 24% said the level of antisemitism has stayed the same, and 9% were unsure.

Younger voters (under 55 years old) disproportionately concluded that antisemitism has stayed the same or decreased, while higher numbers of older voters said antisemitism has grown, including 76% of respondents age 65 and older.

More Stevens supporters said that antisemitism has increased (71%) than backers of El-Sayed (57%).

mburke@detroitnews.com

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

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