By: Peter S. Chang, MD, Grace Health President/CEO
I still remember a young mother I met early on while working in community health here in Calhoun County.
She came in for her appointment exhausted—not because of a medical complication, but because life was heavy. She was balancing work, childcare, and pregnancy, all while worrying about rent, groceries, and whether her car would make it through another Michigan winter.
Her pregnancy, clinically, was fine.
But everything around it wasn’t.
That reality isn’t new—and it’s exactly why Grace Health was founded in 1986.
At the time, there simply weren’t enough obstetricians in the community to care for pregnant mothers. And after those babies were born, there weren’t enough pediatricians willing or able to see children—especially those covered by public insurance.
Grace Health stepped in to fill that gap.
From the very beginning, our focus was clear: care for pregnant moms, care for babies, and ensure that every family had access to high-quality healthcare.
That mission still drives us today.
But over time, we’ve learned something just as important: healthcare alone isn’t enough.
At Grace Health, we’ve spent decades walking alongside families in Calhoun County. We’ve seen how financial stress, food insecurity, housing instability, and transportation challenges shape outcomes long before a baby is ever born.
That understanding has pushed us to grow—not just as a healthcare provider, but as a community partner.
We’ve invested in efforts like early childhood literacy because we know brain development begins early and depends on more than medical care. It depends on proper nutrition, stable environments, and the ability for parents to focus on nurturing their children rather than worrying about how to make ends meet.
That’s why our partnership with Rx Kids is such a natural – and necessary – next step.
Beginning July 1, Rx Kids will launch in Calhoun County, recognizing something simple but powerful: if we want better outcomes for moms and babies, we must make sure their basic needs are met.
Through this program, eligible families in the City of Battle Creek, the City of Springfield, the City of Albion, and Sheridan Township will receive $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 each month throughout the baby’s first six months of life. That support helps cover essentials like food, housing, transportation, and diapers—the very things that reduce stress and create stability during a critical time.
This is about giving every child the strongest possible start.
Because the earliest months of life shape everything that follows. Brain development happens rapidly, and it depends on consistent nutrition, safe environments, and reduced stress in the home. If we want children to succeed in school and in life, we must invest in them from the very beginning.
Today, as CEO of Grace Health—a Federally Qualified Health Center serving families across Calhoun County—I am incredibly proud that our organization can help champion this effort alongside our community partners. Rx Kids is led by Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and administered by GiveDirectly, a global leader in delivering efficient and effective cash transfer programs.
This work also would not be possible without the support of the bipartisan Michigan Legislature, which has helped make the expansion of Rx Kids across our state a reality. At a time when it can feel like so many issues divide us, supporting healthy moms and babies is something leaders from both sides of the aisle have come together around.
That matters.
Because this isn’t about politics – it’s about people.
For Grace Health, this moment represents an evolution of the same mission we began 40 years ago.
We started by addressing gaps in medical care for mothers and babies.
Today, we are building partnerships to address the deeper challenges that shape their health and future.
The goal has always been bigger than treating illness.
It’s about creating healthier families, stronger children, and a more resilient community.
Rx Kids helps make that possible.
It gives families the breathing room to focus on what matters most—caring for their children, building stability, and laying the foundation for lifelong success.
Because every child deserves more than just a chance at life.
They deserve a real chance at learning, growing, and thriving.
When we support mothers and babies from the very start, we don’t just improve outcomes—we shape the future of Calhoun County.