NOVEMBER 30, 2001 - Tune in on Saturday morning from 8-9 a.m. to “Consumer Insider” on the Michigan Talk Radio Network to learn about how the State of Michigan is working to ensure consumers are getting quality care during a national nurse shortage.

This week’s Consumer Insider radio program features:

Michigan’s Nursing Shortage Study – Guest: Thomas Lindsay, director of Consumer & Industry Services Bureau of Health Services, which licenses nurses and other health professionals

Medical Opportunities in Michigan – Guest: Anne Rosewarne, executive director of the Michigan Health Council

How Colleges Are Recruiting Nurses for the Future – Guest: Suzanne Mellon, PhD, RN.  She is the Dean of the College of Health Professions and McAuley School of Nursing at the University of Detroit Mercy

“Consumer Insider” is a new weekly live talk radio program about CIS & State of Michigan resources in an effort to educate consumers about state government resources. The show is hosted by Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services Director Kathleen M. Wilbur.

Consumer Insider is aired live from 8-9 a.m. on Saturdays on the Michigan Talk Radio Network and simulcast on www.mlive.com. It is rebroadcast on Saturday evenings from 7-8 p.m. and archived on www.mlive.com. Affiliates in the Michigan Talk Radio Network currently broadcasting the radio show include: WABJ-Adrian (1490 AM), WKMI-Kalamazoo (1360 AM), WSJM-Benton Harbor (1400 AM), WMFN-Grand Rapids (640 AM), WMMI-Mt. Pleasant (830 AM), WLDR-Traverse City (1210 AM), WJML-Petoskey (1110 AM), WNBY-Newberry (1450 AM), WMIQ- Iron Mountain (1450 AM) and WHAK-Alpena (960 AM).

Wilbur said, “Consumer & Industry Services has been proactively addressing the nursing shortage by cutting the red tape for Canadian nurses to obtain a license in Michigan, offering nursing scholarships for advance practice nursing students, and providing a grant to support a web site matching employers to applicants in the health field. This show will be informative not only for individuals considering a career in the health profession, but for all consumers who are concerned about the quality of care during this national nursing shortage.”

Wilbur has been director of CIS since it was created in 1996 when the Regulatory functions in the former Departments of Commerce and Labor were merged together with agencies from five other departments. Some of the agencies within CIS include: the Unemployment Agency, Liquor Control Commission, Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, and the Office of Financial and Insurance Services.

Read more Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services press releases.