Leading Clevelanders had community service at the forefront of their minds when they met a century and a half ago to establish what would become University Hospitals. But even the most civic-minded among them could scarcely have imagined the scope, impact and creativity of the community service they seeded in 1866.
With its health care network of physicians, hospitals and outpatient facilities, University Hospitals and its flagship academic medical center are renowned for producing clinical research and innovations and educating the next generation of physicians, nurses and health care professionals.
Guided by CEO Thomas F. Zenty III, University Hospitals contributed more than $267 million in services and funding to benefit its community in 2011. These benefits include nearly $140 million in free and subsidized medical care for Northeast Ohio’s neediest residents. Yet today, UH’s community impact extends far beyond its traditional role as a charity-care safety net.
UH trains tomorrow’s medical professionals. It conducts life-saving research to discover therapies and cures for society’s most vexing illnesses. It uses its resources to reach out to its communities to improve health. And University Hospitals is using its civic and economic power as an anchor institution in new ways to revitalize its community and create prosperity.
UH’s board and leadership have emerged as national leaders in local community service. This is enlightened self-interest. Promoting the most vibrant and livable region and the strongest possible economy makes Northeast Ohio more appealing to residents — who are University Hospitals’ customers — and to professionals that UH seeks to recruit and retain.
University Hospitals also sees this work as an extension of its historic civic commitment and an extension of its mission: to heal, to teach and to discover.
How to reach: University Hospitals, (216) 844-1000 or www.uhhospitals.org
