LANSING, Mich. – Making fruits and vegetables more readily available, cancer screenings by mail, health coaches and exercise programs are just several of the local initiatives getting funding from the Michigan Department of Community Health.

The MDCH recently announced 44 projects are getting approximately $1.34 million, including a dozen projects in West Michigan.  The grants include:

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—  A hospital under investigation for alleged abuse of patients is getting a new director.

Jill Krause will oversee the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital beginning Jan. 7.   Krause has more than 21 years of experience in behavioral health, most recently serving as the director of the adult mental illness division of Network180 in Kent County.

“As a department, we are committed to providing quality care to the patients at Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital,” said Tim Becker, deputy director of the Michigan Department of Community Health. “We continue to make important progress in ensuring the safety of our patients and staff, and I am confident that Jill’s experience and leadership will help us carry this momentum forward.”

KENT COUNTY, Mich.—The Kent County Health Department is seeing a slight uptick in whooping cough cases.

Health Department spokeswoman Lisa LaPlante says from Jan. 1 to Dec. 5, 13 cases of whooping cough were reported in Kent County.  During that same time last year, only nine cases of whooping cough were reported in the county.  Whooping cough last spiked in 2010, with 17 cases locally. In a month-by-month breakdown of the year, January had the most reported cases (5), followed by August (3) and September (2).

The Allegan County Health Department is also dealing with a higher number of whooping cough cases; 21 people reported coming down with whooping cough between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1.  That's more than double the number of cases reported during the same time last year, according to the health department's Dr. Richard Tooker.