MOUNT PLEASANT — The Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance announced that CMU Health will become the new organizational home for the Great Lakes Bay Region Mental Health Partnership, a transition the alliance said marks a next chapter in the partnership’s mission to reduce stigma, strengthen mental health awareness, and expand access and collaboration across the region.
The alliance said it has housed the mental health partnership for the past four years, during which the partnership established core programming, built regional collaborations, and demonstrated long-term sustainability and measurable impact.
Dallas Rau, executive director of the mental health partnership, will continue in a leadership role with CMU Health as director of the partnership at CMU Health, according to the alliance.
“This transition allows us to grow thoughtfully and responsibly,” Rau said. “We are deeply grateful to the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance for stewarding and supporting this work, and we are equally excited to begin this next chapter with CMU Health.”
Rau said the partnership with CMU Health would support expanded collaboration, innovation, and long-term sustainability while strengthening the region’s mental health provider strategy and increasing access to care.
The alliance said aligning with CMU Health will create opportunities to expand programming, deepen integration with clinical education and patient care, and enhance support for mental health providers, patients and communities across the region.
“The Partnership has grown into a powerful regional force for mental health awareness and collaboration, and we are proud to have supported its development during these foundational years,” said Tera Szeliga, interim executive director of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance. She said the transition to CMU Health would strengthen the partnership’s impact and reach.
J.W. Fisher, steering team chair of the mental health partnership and president of Fisher Contracting Company, said the alliance helped bring the partnership’s vision to life and that joining CMU Health would strengthen its ability to serve communities and support mental health.
The Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance said it extends best wishes to the partnership and expressed gratitude for its contributions to community well-being and the collaboration shared over the past four years. The alliance said it is confident the partnership’s mission will continue to thrive in its new home.
The alliance said its mission is to encourage, support and celebrate regional collaboration and initiatives to improve economic vitality and quality of life in the Great Lakes Bay Region, and that it includes more than 40 board members representing organizations across Bay, Isabella, Midland and Saginaw counties.
CMU Health said it comprises CMU College of Medicine’s academic medical center along with local teaching hospitals Covenant HealthCare and MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw, and includes nearly 70 faculty physicians and 121 resident doctors providing care across northern and central Michigan.
CMU Health said it has eight locations spanning the Great Lakes Bay Region and focuses on improving access to quality health care in Michigan with an emphasis on serving medically underserved populations, while also providing health care on campus for students, faculty and staff.
In 2024-25, CMU Health said it provided care for more than 94,586 ambulatory visits, 910 infant deliveries and 7,020 surgical procedures, including 38,850 visits for patients covered by Medicaid or Medicaid HMOs. CMU Health said patients receive care at clinical locations and within partners’ facilities including Covenant HealthCare, MyMichigan Medical Centers, the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center and Great Lakes Bay Health Centers.
More information is available at www.greatlakesbay.com and www.greatlakesbay.com/mentalhealth.