LANSING — Rx Kids will host a virtual press conference via Zoom at 9 a.m. Eastern time Monday to announce the expansion of Rx Kids to the entire Upper Peninsula.

This will mark the largest geographic expansion of any Rx Kids launch to date, reaching 10 new counties.

Speakers will include Dr. Mona Hanna, Rx Kids founding director and associate dean of Public Health, Michigan State University; Nick Derusha, director and health officer, Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft, or LMAS, District Health Department; state Sen. Ed McBroom; Austin Lowes, chair of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians; Mike Snyder, health officer, Public Health Delta and Menominee Counties; Megan Murphy, CEO, Superior Health Foundation; and a local Upper Peninsula mom.

Rx Kids is the nation’s first-ever community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program. On Monday, families who reside in Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, Menominee and Ontonagon counties can enroll to receive a one-time $1,500 payment during mid-pregnancy and $500 per month for the first six months of their baby’s life. All expectant mothers must be at least 16 weeks pregnant at the time of enrollment or have an infant born on or after Sunday. To learn more, go online to RxKids.org. 

This launch comes less than a month after Rx Kids launched in the City of Detroit, the largest city yet. In Detroit, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Rx Kids would be expanding from five counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula to the entire U.P. in less than a month’s time. With the addition of Detroit and the central and western Upper Peninsula, Rx Kids will now be reaching more than 18,000 babies born each year.

Rx Kids is a program led by Michigan State University and administered by GiveDirectly. The initiative is made possible thanks to funding from the State of Michigan and a growing family of funders. 

Local Community Champions for Rx Kids in the 10 new UP counties include Dickinson/Iron District Health Department, Marquette County Health Department, Public Health Delta and Menominee Counties and Western Upper Peninsula Health Department.

LMAS District Health Department will serve as a regional champion for Rx Kids in the U.P., building on more than a year of success in support outreach and engagement in the Eastern U.P.