CLEVELAND, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cleveland Clinic announced plans today to contribute $10 million in cash and services over the next five years to support and enhance educational opportunities for Cleveland Municipal Schools students. The Clinic also is initiating a new summer internship program to support the top science students in high schools throughout Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Delos M. Cosgrove, M.D., made the announcements during his first address at The City Club of Cleveland.
“If we are to stimulate and help build the economy of Northeast Ohio, we must address the realities of the knowledge economy,” Dr. Cosgrove told The City Club audience. “We are fortunate to have a strong health care establishment, which is founded on information and technology. To continue to grow this, we are dependent upon a highly educated workforce. We must educate our children and retain and attract the best and the brightest to come to the Greater Cleveland area.”
A portion of the Clinic’s $10 million will be earmarked to connect Cleveland schools to the OneCleveland network, a high-speed Internet system created to service non-profit organizations. This will connect the Cleveland Clinic Health System, Cleveland’s universities, libraries and cultural institutions with Cleveland city schools.
Barbara Byrd-Bennett, chief executive officer of Cleveland Municipal School District, said The Cleveland Clinic is to be commended for stepping up to help ensure the future of the city’s youth.
“I thank Dr. Cosgrove and The Cleveland Clinic for the example they are setting for this community,” Byrd-Bennett said. “This $10 million contribution -- combined with the ‘Vision First’ free eyesight screenings, the John Hay Educational Partnership, the medical care the Clinic provides our student athletes and more -- all create a stronger school district and a stronger community.”
The Cleveland Clinic/John Hay High School Educational Partnership has existed for 16 years and provided internships and other work experiences to more than 1,600 students. The program exposes students to career opportunities in health sciences, health education and many other areas.
Along with this program, Dr. Cosgrove told the sold-out City Club audience, The Cleveland Clinic will initiate a new program of summer internships designed to benefit the area’s top high school science students.
“Our employees have a rich history of involvement in the community through such programs as our partnership with John Hay High School,” Dr. Cosgrove said. “This program significantly augments our past efforts with the addition of more than 300 volunteers. These volunteers will help mentor and be role models for students who attend schools in our service regions.”
Dr. Cosgrove concluded his announcements by challenging other Cleveland organizations to come forward to support Northeast Ohio’s youth.
“We are contributing to what we consider our most precious resource and our best and brightest hope for the future,” he said. “We hope that this stimulates other organizations in both the profit and non-profit world to actively support education.”
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for- profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. The Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names The Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Approximately 1,200 full-time salaried physicians at The Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2003, patients came for treatment from every state and nearly 90 countries. The Cleveland Clinic website address is http://www.clevelandclinic.org/ .
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
CONTACT: Eileen Caruso Sheil, +1-216-444-8927, or Cole Hatcher,+1-216-445-1991, both of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Web site: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/