Health + Wellness
As the number of cyclists and pedestrians on the near west side grows and car traffic remains relatively flat, urban planners are giving several streets a "road diet" to make them friendlier for bikers and walkers while still accessible to drivers.
The result will be some of the city's first model green streets.
"We're starting to create all this connectivity," says Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who has helped push green initiatives through city hall, including the "complete and green streets" legislation that passed last year. "The city is realizing they have to accept and build out and incorporate all modes of transportation."
So what does a "road diet" look like? The recently-completed plan for W. 65th Street between Denison Avenue and the lakefront shows curb bumpouts with additional landscaping, striped sharrows for road riders, and a 10-foot-wide multimodal path for peds and cyclists who prefer not to ride in the street.
If the pretty pictures become a reality -- a process that will take several years and require an application to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency for millions in federal dollars -- it could result in a "healthier" street that better connects the investments happening in near west side neighborhoods.
"This is the main north-south thoroughfare between West Boulevard and W. 25th," says Zone. "We can build off the momentum we've created here. You'll eventually be able to bike from Edgewater Beach to the zoo via W. 65th."
Among the assets in the area, Zone cited the Gordon Square Arts District, the new Max Hayes High School scheduled to break ground this year, the EcoVillage, major employers and eight schools. The W. 65th project will cost about $6 million.
Most importantly, Zone says, streetscape projects like the W. 65th Street re-do make roads safer for kids who walk to school and families without access to a car.
Other green-street projects on the near west side include bike lanes on Detroit Avenue (which will be striped this spring), the planned Train Avenue corridor greenway, the creation of bike lanes on W. 41st and 44th streets in Ohio City (to be completed this year), a new streetscape for Denison Avenue (a few years away) and a planning process for Lorain Avenue (launching this month).
The West 65th Street corridor study was completed by Environmental Design Group, which has offices in both Cleveland and Akron.
Source: Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The result will be some of the city's first model green streets.
"We're starting to create all this connectivity," says Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who has helped push green initiatives through city hall, including the "complete and green streets" legislation that passed last year. "The city is realizing they have to accept and build out and incorporate all modes of transportation."
So what does a "road diet" look like? The recently-completed plan for W. 65th Street between Denison Avenue and the lakefront shows curb bumpouts with additional landscaping, striped sharrows for road riders, and a 10-foot-wide multimodal path for peds and cyclists who prefer not to ride in the street.
If the pretty pictures become a reality -- a process that will take several years and require an application to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency for millions in federal dollars -- it could result in a "healthier" street that better connects the investments happening in near west side neighborhoods.
"This is the main north-south thoroughfare between West Boulevard and W. 25th," says Zone. "We can build off the momentum we've created here. You'll eventually be able to bike from Edgewater Beach to the zoo via W. 65th."
Among the assets in the area, Zone cited the Gordon Square Arts District, the new Max Hayes High School scheduled to break ground this year, the EcoVillage, major employers and eight schools. The W. 65th project will cost about $6 million.
Most importantly, Zone says, streetscape projects like the W. 65th Street re-do make roads safer for kids who walk to school and families without access to a car.
Other green-street projects on the near west side include bike lanes on Detroit Avenue (which will be striped this spring), the planned Train Avenue corridor greenway, the creation of bike lanes on W. 41st and 44th streets in Ohio City (to be completed this year), a new streetscape for Denison Avenue (a few years away) and a planning process for Lorain Avenue (launching this month).
The West 65th Street corridor study was completed by Environmental Design Group, which has offices in both Cleveland and Akron.
Source: Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"We are all assets," declares the national website of TimeBanks USA, a movement dedicated to building "caring community" economies through an inclusive exchange of time and talent.
Indeed, time can be as valuable an asset as money in terms of the positive impact it has on a neighborhood, says Adam Gifford, director of community involvement at the Stockyard, Clark-Fulton, and Brooklyn Centre Development Office, which, along with its parent Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, is sponsoring a time bank in Cleveland.
The time bank movement works through reciprocation. For example, a landscaper does an hour of volunteer tree-trimming work, then deposits those 60 "time dollars" into his account. When he needs a service done, like getting his dogs walked or receiving help with his taxes, he simply "withdraws" his deposit for the service. There is no monetary value ever attached to any service -- time is the one and only coin of the realm.
"People may not have the money available, but they may have time," says Gifford. "It's about giving people access to services they normally couldn't afford."
Time banks have sprung up across the country. Locally, Kent and Medina are among the communities to use the service. The Cleveland time bank is in its infancy, attracting nearly 100 members putting in about 150 hours of work so far. A program orientation will be held February 26 at The Salvation Army's Clarke-Fulton location, while a Cleveland time bank website is scheduled to go live in March.
The time bank is open to individuals and groups. Gifford views the exchange of skills and services without cash as a method to enrich lives.
"It's a creative way to build a community," he says.
SOURCE: Adam Gifford
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Indeed, time can be as valuable an asset as money in terms of the positive impact it has on a neighborhood, says Adam Gifford, director of community involvement at the Stockyard, Clark-Fulton, and Brooklyn Centre Development Office, which, along with its parent Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, is sponsoring a time bank in Cleveland.
The time bank movement works through reciprocation. For example, a landscaper does an hour of volunteer tree-trimming work, then deposits those 60 "time dollars" into his account. When he needs a service done, like getting his dogs walked or receiving help with his taxes, he simply "withdraws" his deposit for the service. There is no monetary value ever attached to any service -- time is the one and only coin of the realm.
"People may not have the money available, but they may have time," says Gifford. "It's about giving people access to services they normally couldn't afford."
Time banks have sprung up across the country. Locally, Kent and Medina are among the communities to use the service. The Cleveland time bank is in its infancy, attracting nearly 100 members putting in about 150 hours of work so far. A program orientation will be held February 26 at The Salvation Army's Clarke-Fulton location, while a Cleveland time bank website is scheduled to go live in March.
The time bank is open to individuals and groups. Gifford views the exchange of skills and services without cash as a method to enrich lives.
"It's a creative way to build a community," he says.
SOURCE: Adam Gifford
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
clinic doctor shares risks of teen pregnancy
In a CBS News feature titled “Teen birth rates hit historic low in U.S.,” Ryan Jaslow notes that teen birth rates are at historic lows due to teens waiting to have sex and the use of more effective birth control and the various risks associated with teen pregnancy.
In the piece, the Cleveland Clinic’s own Dr. Ellen Rome, head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine, discusses the various risks associated with teen pregnancy versus those occurring in women over 20.
“One of the biggest risks is that teen moms are less likely to engage in proper prenatal care and more likely to have poor nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse issues that can risk the pregnancy,” Rome is quoted in the piece.
Check out the full informative piece here.
In the piece, the Cleveland Clinic’s own Dr. Ellen Rome, head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine, discusses the various risks associated with teen pregnancy versus those occurring in women over 20.
“One of the biggest risks is that teen moms are less likely to engage in proper prenatal care and more likely to have poor nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse issues that can risk the pregnancy,” Rome is quoted in the piece.
Check out the full informative piece here.
In recent years, Mentor native Erin Huber has flown 7,000 miles just to get the population of a small Ugandan village a drop to drink. That effort is part of a larger endeavor to promote water sustainability both locally and globally.
Huber, founder of Drink Local Drink Tap, a nonprofit organization seeking to connect Clevelanders to local water through art installations and free environmental education, traveled to Africa the last two summers with the mission of getting an impoverished people access to clean water.
The first trip, in 2011, found the activist journeying throughout East Africa to learn about the water situation. Her visit to a rural Ugandan town was particularly eye-opening. Children in the village had to walk over a mile to find a nearby water source, and the water wasn't clean or safe.
Last summer, Huber and her small team returned to Uganda, where they drilled a 70-meter hole into a water table to bring drinkable water to the people of the tiny African community. They filmed their efforts for the documentary Making Waves from Cleveland to Uganda, which Huber hopes to screen at the Cleveland International Film Festival.
"We struck water 'gold,'" she says of the Africa venture, which now supplies fresh drinking water to about 1,500 villagers.
Huber, with a master's degree in environmental studies from Cleveland State University and fond memories of a childhood spent camping next to lakes, streams and rivers, has three more water-related projects set for a future jaunt to Uganda. Meanwhile, she will continue to educate Cleveland's youth and adults about the enormous local fresh water resource known as the Great Lakes.
"We have to realize how fortunate we are," Huber says. "Everything we see needs water to exist."
SOURCE: Erin Huber
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Huber, founder of Drink Local Drink Tap, a nonprofit organization seeking to connect Clevelanders to local water through art installations and free environmental education, traveled to Africa the last two summers with the mission of getting an impoverished people access to clean water.
The first trip, in 2011, found the activist journeying throughout East Africa to learn about the water situation. Her visit to a rural Ugandan town was particularly eye-opening. Children in the village had to walk over a mile to find a nearby water source, and the water wasn't clean or safe.
Last summer, Huber and her small team returned to Uganda, where they drilled a 70-meter hole into a water table to bring drinkable water to the people of the tiny African community. They filmed their efforts for the documentary Making Waves from Cleveland to Uganda, which Huber hopes to screen at the Cleveland International Film Festival.
"We struck water 'gold,'" she says of the Africa venture, which now supplies fresh drinking water to about 1,500 villagers.
Huber, with a master's degree in environmental studies from Cleveland State University and fond memories of a childhood spent camping next to lakes, streams and rivers, has three more water-related projects set for a future jaunt to Uganda. Meanwhile, she will continue to educate Cleveland's youth and adults about the enormous local fresh water resource known as the Great Lakes.
"We have to realize how fortunate we are," Huber says. "Everything we see needs water to exist."
SOURCE: Erin Huber
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
For a number of years at the tail end of the 20th century, Greater Cleveland's public and private leaders attempted to pull the city up through ambitious marketing campaigns. For awhile it seemed to work. The national media began referring to Cleveland as the "Comeback City" in conjunction with the grand openings of ambitious projects like Tower City Center, Jacobs Field and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
But toward the end of the '90s a strange thing happened: The city, for all intents and purposes, stopped marketing itself.
Why?
"We began to believe our own press," says Rick Batyko, president of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, which conducts the Cleveland Plus campaign. And civic officials "moved on to other tasks and defunded marketing."
In essence, Northeast Ohio stopped telling its tale with the tale barely begun -- a rather large mistake in retrospect. "The underlying economy wasn't doing that well," Batyko says. "That's something you couldn't see in the skyline shots."
During the mid-2000s, the region's narrative thread was picked up by Cleveland Plus campaign. Established in 2005 -- with founding members that included Greater Cleveland Partnership, Positively Cleveland and Team NEO -- the organization champions Northeast Ohio as a culturally rich, yet affordable place to live.
Read the rest of the story here.
But toward the end of the '90s a strange thing happened: The city, for all intents and purposes, stopped marketing itself.
Why?
"We began to believe our own press," says Rick Batyko, president of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, which conducts the Cleveland Plus campaign. And civic officials "moved on to other tasks and defunded marketing."
In essence, Northeast Ohio stopped telling its tale with the tale barely begun -- a rather large mistake in retrospect. "The underlying economy wasn't doing that well," Batyko says. "That's something you couldn't see in the skyline shots."
During the mid-2000s, the region's narrative thread was picked up by Cleveland Plus campaign. Established in 2005 -- with founding members that included Greater Cleveland Partnership, Positively Cleveland and Team NEO -- the organization champions Northeast Ohio as a culturally rich, yet affordable place to live.
Read the rest of the story here.
The Cleveland Hostel on W. 25th Street in Ohio City recently acquired a collection of eight bikes for rental purposes. It plans to offer daily rentals to visitors and locals who want to explore the city on two wheels come spring (or now, if you're a snow rider).
"We just got 'em a week and a half ago," says Mark Raymond, the Geneva native who opened Cleveland's first hostel last August. "The Akron Bike Club came up for the West Side Market Centennial on the Towpath, and they liked the hostel so much they donated these bikes."
The eight two-wheelers -- a mix of road bikes and cruisers -- are available for $15 per day if you're a hostel guest or $20 per day if you're not. The bikes are available during regular hostel hours: 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Renting bikes was always part of Raymond's plan, and he's excited to showcase his city to travelers who don't have a car or prefer to get around without one. In the past six months, he's hosted travelers from 40 countries around the globe.
The Cleveland Hostel has also hosted visiting artists and individuals affiliated with Cleveland Public Theatre, LAND Studio and other groups. Raymond already has the entire hostel booked by a group of Germans for the Gay Games in 2014.
The hostel is also open to Ohio City residents and the general public for event rentals and special events. Raymond will host bands on the second floor during Brite Winter Festival on Saturday, February 16th. He's even found a hidden market in Clevelanders looking for a place to crash during Ohio City outings.
"We've had a lot of people from the area stay here, especially around New Year's," he says. "They'll see a show, have dinner and then spend the night in the hostel."
Source: Mark Raymond
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"We just got 'em a week and a half ago," says Mark Raymond, the Geneva native who opened Cleveland's first hostel last August. "The Akron Bike Club came up for the West Side Market Centennial on the Towpath, and they liked the hostel so much they donated these bikes."
The eight two-wheelers -- a mix of road bikes and cruisers -- are available for $15 per day if you're a hostel guest or $20 per day if you're not. The bikes are available during regular hostel hours: 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Renting bikes was always part of Raymond's plan, and he's excited to showcase his city to travelers who don't have a car or prefer to get around without one. In the past six months, he's hosted travelers from 40 countries around the globe.
The Cleveland Hostel has also hosted visiting artists and individuals affiliated with Cleveland Public Theatre, LAND Studio and other groups. Raymond already has the entire hostel booked by a group of Germans for the Gay Games in 2014.
The hostel is also open to Ohio City residents and the general public for event rentals and special events. Raymond will host bands on the second floor during Brite Winter Festival on Saturday, February 16th. He's even found a hidden market in Clevelanders looking for a place to crash during Ohio City outings.
"We've had a lot of people from the area stay here, especially around New Year's," he says. "They'll see a show, have dinner and then spend the night in the hostel."
Source: Mark Raymond
Writer: Lee Chilcote
wsj calls cleveland an 'overlooked entrepreneurial hub'
In a Wall Street Journal post titled “For U.S. Startups, ‘Times They-are-a-Changing,’” Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and trends that are changing nationwide, including Cleveland.
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
Check out the full piece here.
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
Check out the full piece here.
Explorys, which offers a secure software platform that allows healthcare systems to summarize, analyze and manage data, has moved into the former home of MOCA. The Cleveland-based company currently has more than 80 employees and is expected to climb to between 110 and 125 by next year.
dispatch covers ohio cities experiencing urban growth
In a Columbus Dispatch story titled “Cities’ hearts beating strong in Ohio’s three C’s,” writer Steve Wartenberg describes the various ways Ohio’s three largest cities are experiencing urban renewal and growth and the benefits that go along with it.
“In Cleveland, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance has helped spur $5 billion in investment, including about $3 billion in the central business district,” Michael Deemer, vice president of business development, was quoted as saying.
The $350 million Horseshoe Casino has been credited for drawing over a million visitors in its first two months, while the $465 million Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center is expected to draw thousands of health-care professionals to Cleveland permanently.
“It’s the first of its kind, a medical-innovation showplace,” notes David Gilbert, chief executive of Positively Cleveland.
Enjoy the tale of three cities here.
“In Cleveland, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance has helped spur $5 billion in investment, including about $3 billion in the central business district,” Michael Deemer, vice president of business development, was quoted as saying.
The $350 million Horseshoe Casino has been credited for drawing over a million visitors in its first two months, while the $465 million Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center is expected to draw thousands of health-care professionals to Cleveland permanently.
“It’s the first of its kind, a medical-innovation showplace,” notes David Gilbert, chief executive of Positively Cleveland.
Enjoy the tale of three cities here.
Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies (GLNT), which creates biomedical technologies for the treatment of movement disorders, announced last week that they will be leading a study to improve algorithms for deep brain stimulation in treating Parkinson’s disease.
The study will use GLNT’s Kinesia technology and is funded by a $283,828 phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It will take place at the University of Alabama at Birmingham this spring.
Deep brain stimulation involves implanting an electrode in a certain area of the brain to treat the side effects of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. But the technology has varied results. GLNT hopes to improve the outcomes.
“Implanting the electrode is more art than science right now,” says Dustin Heldman, biomedical researcher and principal investigator for GLNT, explaining that outcomes depend on amplitude and frequency -- leaving a lot of variables on the individual programmer.
“With the existing Kinesia system we’re trying to level the playing field for everyone by making an objective standard way of programming,” explains Heldman. “We’re taking the guesswork out of it.”
While phase I will just collect preliminary data, deep brain stimulation could be another application for GLNT’s Kinesia. “It’s great for us,” Heldman says. “We have this sensor technology now, it’s released and it’s FDA cleared. This is just another application. Assuming we get good results, we'll apply for a much larger study.”
GLNT grew from 15 to 23 employees last year, and is hiring three additional people now.
Source: Dustin Heldman
Writer: Karin Connelly
The study will use GLNT’s Kinesia technology and is funded by a $283,828 phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It will take place at the University of Alabama at Birmingham this spring.
Deep brain stimulation involves implanting an electrode in a certain area of the brain to treat the side effects of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. But the technology has varied results. GLNT hopes to improve the outcomes.
“Implanting the electrode is more art than science right now,” says Dustin Heldman, biomedical researcher and principal investigator for GLNT, explaining that outcomes depend on amplitude and frequency -- leaving a lot of variables on the individual programmer.
“With the existing Kinesia system we’re trying to level the playing field for everyone by making an objective standard way of programming,” explains Heldman. “We’re taking the guesswork out of it.”
While phase I will just collect preliminary data, deep brain stimulation could be another application for GLNT’s Kinesia. “It’s great for us,” Heldman says. “We have this sensor technology now, it’s released and it’s FDA cleared. This is just another application. Assuming we get good results, we'll apply for a much larger study.”
GLNT grew from 15 to 23 employees last year, and is hiring three additional people now.
Source: Dustin Heldman
Writer: Karin Connelly
Studio Fifty-One is a new wig boutique providing free wigs to any woman undergoing cancer treatment at the Cleveland Clinic that results in hair loss. Perhaps the greatest benefit the wigs provide is the sense of normalcy that goes AWOL while a patient is going through the healing process.
"The salon brings our patients comfort at a difficult time of their cancer journey," says Elizabeth Lindecke, director of The Scott Hamilton CARES Initiative at the Clinic.
The initiative partially funds the boutique, which opened on January 24 at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center. Funding is also coming from Margaret Rose Giltinan, a breast cancer survivor who underwent treatment at the hospital. The synthetic and real hair wigs are provided by the American Cancer Society and Jeffrey Paul Salon.
Early response has been "wonderful," reports Lindecke. The salon gave out 15 wigs during its first day of operation. One woman arrived with an old photograph that displayed her pre-cancer hairdo.
"She asked, 'Will I ever see this girl again?'" says Lindecke. "We found a wig that approximated her old hairstyle, and she left feeling like a million bucks."
Since its opening, Studio Fifty-One has received numerous emails and phone calls from people interested in the program. While there are no toupees for male patients, Cleveland's professional sports teams have donated a variety of free hats and caps for them to don during treatment.
For further information on Studio Fifty-One, email studio51@ccf.org or call 216-445-6885.
SOURCE: Elizabeth Lindecke
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
"The salon brings our patients comfort at a difficult time of their cancer journey," says Elizabeth Lindecke, director of The Scott Hamilton CARES Initiative at the Clinic.
The initiative partially funds the boutique, which opened on January 24 at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center. Funding is also coming from Margaret Rose Giltinan, a breast cancer survivor who underwent treatment at the hospital. The synthetic and real hair wigs are provided by the American Cancer Society and Jeffrey Paul Salon.
Early response has been "wonderful," reports Lindecke. The salon gave out 15 wigs during its first day of operation. One woman arrived with an old photograph that displayed her pre-cancer hairdo.
"She asked, 'Will I ever see this girl again?'" says Lindecke. "We found a wig that approximated her old hairstyle, and she left feeling like a million bucks."
Since its opening, Studio Fifty-One has received numerous emails and phone calls from people interested in the program. While there are no toupees for male patients, Cleveland's professional sports teams have donated a variety of free hats and caps for them to don during treatment.
For further information on Studio Fifty-One, email studio51@ccf.org or call 216-445-6885.
SOURCE: Elizabeth Lindecke
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Providence House has spread its arms just a little bit wider to Northeast Ohio abused and neglected children with the recent expansion of its facilities.
The Ohio City-based agency, which stands as the first crisis nursery in Ohio, renovated its current at W. 32nd Street and Lorain Avenue location and added 6,500 square feet of space, which combines the children’s shelter and services. As a result of its growth, Providence House will be able to serve an additional 125 at-risk children each year, notes executive director Natalie Leek-Nelson.
"All of our kids are moved over," Leek-Nelson says.
The expansion is the first part of a $2 million, three-phase project designed to allow the nonprofit agency to better serve Northeast Ohio families in crisis. Providence House has raised $2.3 million since launching its "Protect the Promise" campaign in spring 2011. Not only will the agency be able to provide more short-term housing for kids unsafe in their homes, it will also increase the ages of children served from newborn to six up to the age of 10.
"Now the older brothers and sisters in the same crises as their younger siblings will be helped," says Leek-Nelson. "We've created unique educational spaces with computers and academic resources so these kids can catch up on their schoolwork."
The second phase of the “Protect the Promise” capital campaign will include a new family center that will take over an existing building across the street from the expanded facility. The third and final phase involves construction of a 60,000-square-foot children and family campus.
SOURCE: Natalie Leek-Nelson
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
The Ohio City-based agency, which stands as the first crisis nursery in Ohio, renovated its current at W. 32nd Street and Lorain Avenue location and added 6,500 square feet of space, which combines the children’s shelter and services. As a result of its growth, Providence House will be able to serve an additional 125 at-risk children each year, notes executive director Natalie Leek-Nelson.
"All of our kids are moved over," Leek-Nelson says.
The expansion is the first part of a $2 million, three-phase project designed to allow the nonprofit agency to better serve Northeast Ohio families in crisis. Providence House has raised $2.3 million since launching its "Protect the Promise" campaign in spring 2011. Not only will the agency be able to provide more short-term housing for kids unsafe in their homes, it will also increase the ages of children served from newborn to six up to the age of 10.
"Now the older brothers and sisters in the same crises as their younger siblings will be helped," says Leek-Nelson. "We've created unique educational spaces with computers and academic resources so these kids can catch up on their schoolwork."
The second phase of the “Protect the Promise” capital campaign will include a new family center that will take over an existing building across the street from the expanded facility. The third and final phase involves construction of a 60,000-square-foot children and family campus.
SOURCE: Natalie Leek-Nelson
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program designed for people of all ages and fitness levels. Jillian Neimeister and Tricia Tortoreti, owners of the recently opened Birdtown CrossFit in Lakewood, believe the program can empower the lives of Cleveland's teenagers in ways beyond physical prowess.
During a fundraising campaign to help purchase equipment for the gym, the pair promised to donate a one-year membership to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland for every $2,000 raised. The duo ended up raising $7,260 through their indieGOGO.com campaign, equating to three memberships for teens affiliated with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
"Our intention is to introduce teens to a larger community of people who are committed to health, and a network of Clevelanders who may encourage and support them," says Tortoreti, a "Big Sister" with the organization for the last five years.
"We're happy to engage a different audience around the benefits of mentoring," says Big Brothers Big Sisters president/CEO Gretchen Faro regarding the partnership. "Fitness is clearly a need for our community."
The business partners expect that participating teens will come to the gym with their Big Brother or Big Sister, but membership affords them use of all classes on offer. CrossFit is not a typical gym, relying more on jump ropes and barbells than elliptical machines and treadmills. The Cleveland-based CrossFit is located in the Lake Erie Building in Lakewood's Birdtown neighborhood.
Partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters was an easy call for Tortoreti. Her 14-year-old "Little" was eagerly searching for after-school activities that didn't involve video games or just hanging out with friends.
"CrossFit can do so much for you besides making you more fit," says Tortoreti. "We have a great community spirit here."
SOURCES: Jillian Neimeister, Tricia Tortoreti, Gretchen Faro
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
During a fundraising campaign to help purchase equipment for the gym, the pair promised to donate a one-year membership to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland for every $2,000 raised. The duo ended up raising $7,260 through their indieGOGO.com campaign, equating to three memberships for teens affiliated with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
"Our intention is to introduce teens to a larger community of people who are committed to health, and a network of Clevelanders who may encourage and support them," says Tortoreti, a "Big Sister" with the organization for the last five years.
"We're happy to engage a different audience around the benefits of mentoring," says Big Brothers Big Sisters president/CEO Gretchen Faro regarding the partnership. "Fitness is clearly a need for our community."
The business partners expect that participating teens will come to the gym with their Big Brother or Big Sister, but membership affords them use of all classes on offer. CrossFit is not a typical gym, relying more on jump ropes and barbells than elliptical machines and treadmills. The Cleveland-based CrossFit is located in the Lake Erie Building in Lakewood's Birdtown neighborhood.
Partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters was an easy call for Tortoreti. Her 14-year-old "Little" was eagerly searching for after-school activities that didn't involve video games or just hanging out with friends.
"CrossFit can do so much for you besides making you more fit," says Tortoreti. "We have a great community spirit here."
SOURCES: Jillian Neimeister, Tricia Tortoreti, Gretchen Faro
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
usa today features cleveland's historical fairfax neighborhood
In a USA TODAY feature titled “Historic black neighborhoods climb from recession,” Melanie Eversley explores the influx of investments and resurgence of historically black neighborhoods including Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood.
“In Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood, where poet Langston Hughes once lived and where a 98-year-old theater launched his plays, a bank is investing millions.”
Eversely goes on to explain that as the country recovers from the recession, communities are calling attention to what made them famous to begin with.
In Cleveland, she explores the renovations of the Karamu House, the new Langson Hughes center, and others.
"One of the reasons that PNC [Bank] chose Fairfax was because there's such a rich culture there."
Examine the full feature here.
“In Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood, where poet Langston Hughes once lived and where a 98-year-old theater launched his plays, a bank is investing millions.”
Eversely goes on to explain that as the country recovers from the recession, communities are calling attention to what made them famous to begin with.
In Cleveland, she explores the renovations of the Karamu House, the new Langson Hughes center, and others.
"One of the reasons that PNC [Bank] chose Fairfax was because there's such a rich culture there."
Examine the full feature here.
clinic's efforts to control type 2 diabetes with bariatric surgery touted
In a Richmond County Daily Journal piece titled “Bariatric surgery may help send Type 2 diabetes into remission,” Laura Edigton reports on the Cleveland Clinic’s efforts to control Type 2 diabetes and how Bariatric surgery might help.
The Cleveland Clinic said that diabetes experts now believe that bariatric surgery “should be offered much earlier as a reasonable treatment option for patients with poorly controlled diabetes -- and not as a last resort.”
The Cleveland Clinic discovered the correlation and released it in their Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2013 list.
“Bariatric surgery can have a profound effect on diabetes, and many published studies have looked at the effect,” bariatric surgeon Raymond Washington is quoted. “Surgery can account for almost an 80 percent remission of diabetes. Oftentimes, patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes will leave the hospital off of their oral medications after only a few days.”
Read more about this exciting discovery here.
The Cleveland Clinic said that diabetes experts now believe that bariatric surgery “should be offered much earlier as a reasonable treatment option for patients with poorly controlled diabetes -- and not as a last resort.”
The Cleveland Clinic discovered the correlation and released it in their Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2013 list.
“Bariatric surgery can have a profound effect on diabetes, and many published studies have looked at the effect,” bariatric surgeon Raymond Washington is quoted. “Surgery can account for almost an 80 percent remission of diabetes. Oftentimes, patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes will leave the hospital off of their oral medications after only a few days.”
Read more about this exciting discovery here.
The motto of the Near West Family Network (NWFN) is "Stronger Families, Stronger Cleveland." Good schools are an important means of bringing those families into town, maintains the volunteer group's founders, hence the forthcoming Near West Cleveland PreK-8 School Fair.
The fair takes place February 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Ignatius High School. Sponsored by NWFN and advocacy group Ohio City, Inc., participants will get information about the private, charter, public and parochial schools found in Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont and other Near West Side neighborhoods. School representatives will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.
"There will be a gamut of educational options available," says NWFN co-founder and Ohio City resident Norma Polanco-Boyd.
The mother of two daughters expects between 18 to 20 schools to be represented at the fair. "The goal goes back to the reason we started this organization [in November 2012,] says Polanco-Boyd. "We wanted to create a resource-based organization to retain families or attract them to these neighborhoods."
Along with the schools, Polanco-Boyd expects attendance from a handful of non-academic groups as well. These entities will provide yet another source of information for participating parents.
The NWFN website has a list of schools serving the Near West Side. Polanco-Boyd, a community affairs officer with a bank regulator, moved to Cleveland from Chicago with her husband, Joe. At the time, the couple didn't know anyone; Polanco-Boyd helped create NWFN for young families in similar straits.
The school fair is a critical to her group's mission, Polanco-Boyd believes. "We want to grow Cleveland and help maintain its vibrancy," she says.
SOURCE: Norma Polanco-Boyd
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
The fair takes place February 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Ignatius High School. Sponsored by NWFN and advocacy group Ohio City, Inc., participants will get information about the private, charter, public and parochial schools found in Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, Tremont and other Near West Side neighborhoods. School representatives will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.
"There will be a gamut of educational options available," says NWFN co-founder and Ohio City resident Norma Polanco-Boyd.
The mother of two daughters expects between 18 to 20 schools to be represented at the fair. "The goal goes back to the reason we started this organization [in November 2012,] says Polanco-Boyd. "We wanted to create a resource-based organization to retain families or attract them to these neighborhoods."
Along with the schools, Polanco-Boyd expects attendance from a handful of non-academic groups as well. These entities will provide yet another source of information for participating parents.
The NWFN website has a list of schools serving the Near West Side. Polanco-Boyd, a community affairs officer with a bank regulator, moved to Cleveland from Chicago with her husband, Joe. At the time, the couple didn't know anyone; Polanco-Boyd helped create NWFN for young families in similar straits.
The school fair is a critical to her group's mission, Polanco-Boyd believes. "We want to grow Cleveland and help maintain its vibrancy," she says.
SOURCE: Norma Polanco-Boyd
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies (GLNT), which creates biomedical technologies, received Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval to market its Kinesia technology in Australia. The technology is used to assess and find treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
“The Kinesia system is used for quantitative assessment of Parkinson’s motor systems, which include tremors, bradykinesia, or slow motor movements, and rigidity,” explains Joe Giuffrida, president and principal investigator at GLNT. Furthermore, Parkinson’s medications can cause side effects, including involuntary movements.
Kinesia hooks patients up to motion sensors that are in turn hooked into a computer. It has applications for both the doctor’s office and at home. Doctors can then monitor symptoms of the disease and patients’ responses to different medications and doses. The technology has multiple uses. “For patient care, doctors can assess the symptoms,” says Giuffrida. “Pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs can measure efficacy. And it can be used for deep brain stimulation.”
GLNT received FDA clearance to market in 2006, and permission to market in Europe a couple of years ago, says Giuffrida. “This continues our international growth,” he says. One in 350 Australians has Parkinson’s. Kinesia features a system for home users, which will help patients in the country’s remote locations. “Australia is an important place for us to come next.”
GLNT grew from 15 to 23 employees last year, and is hiring three additional people now.
Source: Joe Giuffrida
Writer: Karin Connelly
“The Kinesia system is used for quantitative assessment of Parkinson’s motor systems, which include tremors, bradykinesia, or slow motor movements, and rigidity,” explains Joe Giuffrida, president and principal investigator at GLNT. Furthermore, Parkinson’s medications can cause side effects, including involuntary movements.
Kinesia hooks patients up to motion sensors that are in turn hooked into a computer. It has applications for both the doctor’s office and at home. Doctors can then monitor symptoms of the disease and patients’ responses to different medications and doses. The technology has multiple uses. “For patient care, doctors can assess the symptoms,” says Giuffrida. “Pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs can measure efficacy. And it can be used for deep brain stimulation.”
GLNT received FDA clearance to market in 2006, and permission to market in Europe a couple of years ago, says Giuffrida. “This continues our international growth,” he says. One in 350 Australians has Parkinson’s. Kinesia features a system for home users, which will help patients in the country’s remote locations. “Australia is an important place for us to come next.”
GLNT grew from 15 to 23 employees last year, and is hiring three additional people now.
Source: Joe Giuffrida
Writer: Karin Connelly
With the new year comes the inevitable glut of new year's resolutions. Cleveland Clinic's Fairview Hospital is aiming to ensure people keep their health-related resolutions with its Fit in Fairview Health Challenge fitness program.
The eight-week program, sponsored by the hospital, Gemini Recreation Center and the City of Fairview Park, kicked off January 5. Participants are given an initial health assessment that includes a free lipid profile and screenings of their body mass index and blood pressure. Challengers will be re-screened in early March when the program ends to see how far they have come.
"The challenge is for people to get healthier," says Rosemary Miles, community outreach manager at Fairview Hospital.
Developing strong exercise and eating habits will be encouraged through free fitness classes. Another piece is “Walk with a Health Professional” sessions where body-conscious Northeast Ohioans will hike a track in gradually increasing increments along with a cardiologist, oncologist or dietitian. The walk will be increased by two laps every week.
"It's about upping levels of stamina and working a little harder each week to reach a goal," Miles says.
Prizes will be awarded at the end of the challenge to the top three participants based on involvement in walks, screenings and fitness classes. The program is aimed at people ages 18 and over, and has drawn 180 participants so far. Miles believes the challenge will motivate partakers to make healthy lifestyle choices that keep them out of the hospital.
"People will get sick, but being physically fit helps them fight disease," she says.
To register for the challenge, visit www.activityreg.com. Click on Ohio, then Fairview Park. Select "register for activity" link, then "adult fitness," then "Fit in Fairview." The challenge costs $10 to enter.
SOURCE: Rosemary Miles
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
The eight-week program, sponsored by the hospital, Gemini Recreation Center and the City of Fairview Park, kicked off January 5. Participants are given an initial health assessment that includes a free lipid profile and screenings of their body mass index and blood pressure. Challengers will be re-screened in early March when the program ends to see how far they have come.
"The challenge is for people to get healthier," says Rosemary Miles, community outreach manager at Fairview Hospital.
Developing strong exercise and eating habits will be encouraged through free fitness classes. Another piece is “Walk with a Health Professional” sessions where body-conscious Northeast Ohioans will hike a track in gradually increasing increments along with a cardiologist, oncologist or dietitian. The walk will be increased by two laps every week.
"It's about upping levels of stamina and working a little harder each week to reach a goal," Miles says.
Prizes will be awarded at the end of the challenge to the top three participants based on involvement in walks, screenings and fitness classes. The program is aimed at people ages 18 and over, and has drawn 180 participants so far. Miles believes the challenge will motivate partakers to make healthy lifestyle choices that keep them out of the hospital.
"People will get sick, but being physically fit helps them fight disease," she says.
To register for the challenge, visit www.activityreg.com. Click on Ohio, then Fairview Park. Select "register for activity" link, then "adult fitness," then "Fit in Fairview." The challenge costs $10 to enter.
SOURCE: Rosemary Miles
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth