Sustainable Health Progress

Key Initiatives

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Novel approach to maternal health

Rx Kids is the first citywide program in the United States to address maternal and infant poverty with the novel approach of unconditional cash allowances to all pregnant moms and babies in the city of Flint. The program aims to eradicate deep poverty among families with infants in Flint by empowering parents with the freedom to choose how best to use the funds to fit their families’ needs — whether that be formula, rent, diapers, childcare or any other need. In addition, Rx Kids aims to improve economic stability, housing and food security, health care utilization, maternal and infant health outcomes, child welfare, and family well-being and stress. Other potential impacts include community reinvestment, neighborhood safety, civic engagement, population stability and societal savings.

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New research center

Construction is underway on the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center, a $335 million biomedical facility in Detroit. It will be MSU’s largest research facility to date, designed to accommodate more than 150 researchers, and it will expand discovery in areas including cancer, neuroscience, immunology and public health. The research center will have dedicated space for MSU and Henry Ford Health researchers, as well as one floor devoted to the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute. This will be the first brick-and-mortar institute solely dedicated to neurofibromatosis, bringing unique opportunities for collaboration across the partnership and with researchers around the world.

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NIH support

The Multilevel Interventions to Advance Maternal Health Equity Center, or MIRACLE, is one of 10 new maternal health research centers funded by an almost $19 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Researchers at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences and Corewell Health will study ways to reduce an alarming number of pregnancy-associated deaths and complications, particularly among Black, Hispanic and rural residents. The center will test multiple community-informed interventions to eliminate the disparities in illness and death that occur during pregnancy and postpartum.

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Affordable access to health care

MSU Health Care joined Nomi Health’s employer-directed network to meet the needs of self-funded employers in Michigan. The collaboration is one of the first of its kind, which brings direct and affordable health care options to Michigan employers looking to provide high-quality and affordable care to their employees. By leveraging MSU Health Care’s clinical excellence and Nomi Health’s proficiency in direct health care solutions, MSU is constructing a blueprint for the future of health care in Michigan — one in which accessibility, efficiency and patient well-being take center stage.

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More Key Initiatives

• 2023
• 2022

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