Grant Aims to Remove Healthcare Barriers for Michigan Veterans

Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services uses funds to better serve veterans 

LANSING, Mich., June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- While Americans prepare to wave flags and attend 4^th of July parades in honor of our nation's independence, many of those who have defended our freedoms are now facing a different battle — finding access to quality healthcare. Despite the existence of the Department of Veterans Affairs system, almost half of all U.S. veterans still face significant challenges accessing adequate healthcare. This is a frustrating, yet solvable problem according to experts at Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN), Michigan's state-designated health information exchange that facilitates the sharing of patient health information to improve care quality, efficiency, and patient safety.

The organization was recently awarded the Michigan Veteran Service Organizations Networking Grant from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) to assist in employing a "no wrong door" approach to ensure veterans in Michigan can easily access the benefits and services they deserve. MiHIN used the grant money to host a series of webinars designed to educate and inform healthcare providers on why it's important to identify veteran status during the screening process, raising awareness on the diverse needs of veterans and current gaps in care affecting how these patients receive timely and efficient access to the care and resources they have earned.

"Michigan is home to the 12th largest veterans' population in the country — more than five percent of the state's population has served in the military, including myself," noted Dr. Kevin Bohnsack, Executive Medical Director, Population Health Management at Trinity Health Michigan, who is also a retired State Air Surgeon from the Michigan Air National Guard and a MiHIN Board Member. "Funding initiatives like this allows us to close the access gap by streamlining patient consent, simplifying workflows for hospital systems, and expediting care coordination for veterans in need of complex services."

Both webinars featured speakers from MiHIN and MVAA and focused on helping participants better identify veterans during intake and registration. Participants also discussed how to approach the "no wrong door" initiative across disparate sectors of care. The events were an opportunity for veteran service providers, advocates, and program contributors to share information, simplify connections with local resources, reduce duplication of effort, and identify service gaps and disparities. Topics covered include:

• Why it's important to identify veteran status within healthcare settings
• How a veteran's health is impacted by their veteran status and experiences receiving care
• Current processes used by healthcare providers across Michigan to identify veterans during patient intake and registration
• Challenges and opportunities for improvement in connecting veterans with the support they need
• How health information technology can play a critical role in the overall health of veteran communities

To watch the recordings and learn more about how MiHIN and the MVAA can help your veteran patient population, visit https://mihin.org/the-download/.

About Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN)
Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) is a public and private non-profit collaboration dedicated to improving the healthcare experience, improving quality and decreasing cost for Michigan's people by supporting the statewide exchange of health information and making valuable data available at the point of care. For more information, visit www.mihin.org.

About Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA)
The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency is the central coordinating agency, providing support, care, advocacy and service to veterans and their families. MVAA was created by Executive Order 2013-2 and began operations on March 20, 2013, the 10th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom. MVAA is a state government agency and is housed within the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mvaa. 

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SOURCE MiHin