CLEVELAND, OH—(October 10, 2016)—At its signature fundraising event, Caritas: A Celebration of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Cleveland State University announced a collaboration to support and expand on the existing academic and medical hub in the Campus District.

Individually, St. Vincent Charity and CSU are powerful economic drivers, representing hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy and thousands of jobs. Together, St. Vincent’s and CSU play an integral role in the ongoing revitalization of Cleveland, the Campus District and the Central Neighborhood.

For the past few years, both presidents have expressed a desire to leverage the institutions to benefit the community. Starting in early 2016, St Vincent Charity and CSU began exploring ways in which these two storied institutions could work together to make a greater impact on our city and region. For example, through a collaboration between St. Vincent’s Spine & Orthopedic Institute and CSU’s Washkewicz College of Engineering, researchers are working together to improve rehabilitation techniques and create new prosthetic technology. And that’s just the beginning.

True to their respective missions, these institutions are exploring ways in which they can address the opiate epidemic in a collaborative manner that not only expands treatment in the short term, but also identifies new evidenced-based treatments and research that will address tomorrow’s challenges.

“All of this is exciting for both of our organizations, but most importantly, it is exciting for the Campus District and the communities we are blessed to serve,” said Dr. David F. Perse, president and CEO of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, at the event.  “Not even a year into our partnership and our collaboration is already generating tangible results.”

“As anchor institutions, we recognize our responsibility to serve the people of Cleveland,” said Cleveland State University President Ronald M. Berkman. “Together, St. Vincent and CSU are committed to this mission.”

“At the core of everything we do at CSU is our philosophy of Engaged Learning, which extends our classrooms into the city itself,” said Dr. Berkman. “Engaged Learning prepares our students to succeed in their chosen professions by combining higher education and hands-on experience through co-ops, internships and other real-world opportunities.”

Work has included engagements between St. Vincent Charity and faculty and researchers in the colleges of engineering, sciences and health professions, nursing and law. St. Vincent Charity is a teaching site for CSU’s joint medical degree program with Northeast Ohio Medical University, which is dedicated to training a more diverse group of health-care professionals to meet the unique health-care needs of urban neighborhoods.

In support of the collaboration, Dr. Perse announced at the event that more than a half-million dollars in gifts that support the collaboration. “I am confident that others will want to help us grow these efforts in scope and sophistication. Among those gifts are:

-          $250,000 of the Robert S. and Germaine Lahiff Hines Endowment will be earmarked for tuition scholarships for our nurses who wish to advance their RN degree to a BSN.  Those funds will be used to help our caregivers further their education at Cleveland State University’s School of Nursing.

-          $200,000 in each of the next 3 years was recently committed by the Everest Foundation for our Residency Program at St. Vincent Charity including projects with researchers at Cleveland State.

-          $100,000 of the Caritas event proceeds to help further develop the partnership with CSU.

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About St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is Cleveland’s faith-based, high-quality healthcare provider. Our distinguished doctors and caregivers are devoted to treating every patient with clinical excellence and compassionate care. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is home to the renowned Spine and Orthopedic Institute and the Center for Bariatric Surgery. Owned by the Sisters of Charity Health System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center provides Care Beyond Medicine. For more information, visit www.stvincentcharity.com.

About Cleveland State University

Founded in 1964, Cleveland State University is a public research institution that provides a dynamic setting for Engaged Learning. With 17,000-plus students, nine colleges and more than 175 academic programs, CSU was again chosen for 2017 as one of America’s best universities by U.S. News & World Report. Find more information at www.csuohio.edu.