March 2021 Issue

How Telehealth Has Changed the Hospital, a Medical Office and a Clinic

By Craig Manning

Just a year ago, telehealth was a niche service.

Indeed, Jesse Wolff – who last year was the managing director of the HealthSpark health-tech incubator at 20Fathoms – said that 85% of hospitals had “some kind of telehealth platform,” up from 35% a decade previous in a TCBN story on the steady rise of telemedicine in northern Michigan.

Wolff predicted at the time that telehealth utilization would be ubiquitous in the United States within a matter of years.

Wolff’s prediction was right, except for one detail: Ubiquity took only a matter of weeks shortly after the pandemic shut-downs began.

'High …

Worth It: How a Million-Dollar Pay Cut and a $70,000 Minimum Wage Revealed a Better Way of Doing Business

By Chris Wendel

Reviewed by Chris Wendel

By Dan Price, published by Gravity Payments, Inc., April 2020

In a Nutshell: As the book’s subtitle states, an upstart entrepreneur takes the bold step to cut his salary in order to pay all of his employees $70,000 in annual pay.

Who’s it for? Management, business owners.

The supportive relationship between larger companies and their employees has taken some hits in the past 50 years. Gone are the days where employees …

'Time, Talent and Treasure': 2020's spike in charitable giving a bright spot

By Craig Manning

Though the chips may have been down, charitable giving was up in 2020.

According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), charitable giving was up 7.5% in the first six months of 2020, compared to the same span in 2019. That increase came during a time period when the United States unemployment rate hit its highest point since the Great Depression, with an April peak of 14.7%. AFP reported significant 2019-to-2020 increases in new donors, …

Mental Health Authority sees increasing requests for services

By Dr. Curtis Cummins

Trouble sleeping? Feeling on edge? Difficulties concentrating? Racing thoughts?

These are all symptoms of anxiety or severe stress. Fatigue, feelings of helplessness or emptiness, changes in appetite or weight, and loss of interest in things you once enjoyed are signs of depression.

If you are experiencing such symptoms, you are not alone.

It is nearly impossible to stay at home for months on end, cancel a year’s worth of events and disrupt even basic routines …

Sparking Growth: 20Fathoms launches HealthSpark Accelerator to foster healthcare startups

By Craig Manning

First Aid: Medical assistant apprenticeship program a first in the region

By Amy Lane

High End: If you’re selling, the wealthy are buying

By Ross Boissoneau

Moving Money: Bank, credit unions expand in the face of COVID

By Rick Haglund

Leaders, This is Our Time

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." – Anne Frank

In my early twenties, I was sure I was going to be a Russian Orthodox priest. I even earned my master’s degree in theology from Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in …

By McKeel Hagerty

Supporting Diverse Workforce, Improving Equity Are Key to Growth and Prosperity

Last April, Michigan’s unemployment rate hit nearly 23% as the full force of the shutdown hit our economy. Northwest Michigan fared even worse, with regional unemployment exceeding 25% and well above 30% in several counties. Spring 2020 was bleak.

Today, the situation looks a bit different, with northwest Michigan unemployment …

By Warren Call

Sold Rush: The people behind the scenes of the region's 2020 real estate boom

By Craig Manning

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