Health + Wellness
Gateway's old home was torn down this year to make way for the Innerbelt bridge project, which is now under construction. Although Dr. Brian Forsgren, who founded the clinic 12 years ago, scoured the city for prime real estate, he ultimately decided to move across the street.
"He felt very strongly about staying in the neighborhood, so we made it work," says architect Bob Vayda, who designed the new facility at 1819 Abbey Road.
The new building is twice as large as the old one, says Vayda, and can better accommodate the clinic's growth and the needs of the neighborhood. "They'd outgrown the old building years ago," he says. The new facility, which Vayda describes as "the old building on steroids," is about 8,000 square feet.
The clinic's new location presented an interesting set of design challenges, says Vayda. For one thing, the site is largely fill dirt, which means that it had to be regraded and stabilized before a structure could be built on it.
"Back when Cleveland had street sweepers, the city apparently dumped all of its crud on that lot," he says. "When we excavated, we found evidence of old buildings with dirt floors."
Now that the move is finally complete, Gateway's staff is thrilled. "There's more room to move around, and they can see more patients," says Vayda.
Source: Bob Vayda
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Out of those 5,000 hospitals, only 140 were nationally ranked in one or more specialties. The Cleveland Clinic was ranked nationally in 16 adult and 10 pediatric specialties, landing it once again on the Best Hospitals Honor Roll.
For the 17th consecutive year, the Clinic was ranked #1 in cardiology & heart surgery, a spot it has owned since 1994. Other adult specialties rankings include #2 in gastroenterology, #2 in nephrology and #2 in urology. The Clinic also ranked favorably in among pediatric specialties.
Examine the full report here.
Four years ago, Susan Borison and Stephanie Silverman were regular moms who were struggling to make the right choices while raising their children. Though they found plenty of resources addressing issues regarding young children, they found a void as their children reached adolescence. So the Beachwood-based moms started their own magazine, Your Teen.
"I have five kids and parenting magazines started to be irrelevant when they hit age eight," explains Borison. "I used to say to my husband, 'I want the next magazine,' and he said, 'Just do it.'"
So, with no background in journalism or publishing, the two women set out and launched Your Teen in 2008. The goal was to address the daily struggles of raising a teenager. Today, the magazine is published quarterly and goes out to 20,000 homes and is available at Barnes and Noble bookstores in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The magazine has a staff of five, plus interns.
"We want to empower parents to feel knowledgeable and raise their kids in a way they feel comfortable," says Borison. The mag covers everything from substance abuse and sexuality to driving and mental health. They tap experts such as Ellen Rome, head of adolescent medicine and the Cleveland Clinic, and Judy Stenta of Bellfaire JCB, for insight and advice, and host panel discussions three times a year.
"We kept falling on people who wanted to help us," says Borison of the resources they have. "The generosity of sharing their time and knowledge is incredible. We just get 'yes' over and over."
Source: Susan Borison
Writer: Karin Connelly
When Zone Recreation Center's 22 acres of green space reopen next year following a $2.5 million "green" facelift, the rainwater that falls there will be reused on site, rather than being funneled into sewers to pollute our lake, rivers and streams.
"We're using it to rehydrate the park," explains Ward 15 Councilman Matt Zone, who allocated funding for the park's revitalization.
The redesigned park's water conservation features will include permeable pavers that allow rainwater to filter into the ground (unlike most parking lots or hard surfaces, which send water cascading into the nearest sewer). "Bioswales" will also capture water and direct it into rain gardens, which will be seeded with native plants that don't require a lot of mowing, chemicals or maintenance.
One area of the park will even feature a bridge traversing a rain garden, thus allowing visitors to look down into the garden and see how it works as they pass by.
Zone Rec's new splash park will also recycle and reuse its own water. A filtration system will be installed to ensure that the water is cleaned before reuse.
The recreation center is located at W. 65th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Cleveland EcoVillage, a green community that is part of Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Other green-built projects in the area include new energy-efficient townhomes and single-family homes, a large community garden, and the energy-efficient RTA station on Lorain, which is a stop along the Red Line.
Source: Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Yet for others, this 22-acre green space on Cleveland's near-west side has the potential to become an urban oasis, a premier green space that serves the neighborhood while providing a model for integrating sustainability into city parks.
Recently, the City of Cleveland broke ground on $2.5 million of improvements to "Zone Rec," bringing this lofty vision much closer to becoming a reality.
"City residents deserve a place that is as special as any of the parks in Beachwood or Bay Village," Councilman Matt Zone told residents at a recent community meeting.
In redesigning the park, planners implemented sustainability features that include capturing rainwater on site, rather than funneling it into storm sewers. Some of it will be used to water rain gardens filled with native plants and wildflowers.
Features of the new park, which was designed by McKnight Associates, include new baseball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts, as well as a new soccer field, splash park, playground, skateboard park and dog park. It will also feature a meandering path for walkers, joggers and bikers, a new pavilion and stage area, and three separate parking areas.
At the meeting, Zone said the new park will have separate play areas for older and younger children. Activities for younger children will be located at the center of the park, so they can be easily supervised by staff and parents.
The redeveloped park will provide opportunities for urban youth, Zone said. "A lot of city kids don't even have an opportunity to go swimming, and the new 'sprayground' park lets them get in the water."
Zone cited the dog park as an example of how community input shaped the park's redesign. A groundswell of local support led Steve Manka, the artist hired to complete the public art, to design dog bone sculptures for the park.
"You'll see the sculptures from I-90 and know immediately what this place is and that there's a dog park here," said Zone. "The sculptures also function as seating."
Zone Recreation Center is located at West 65th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Cleveland EcoVillage area of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.
Source: Matt Zone
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"A new model in Cleveland -- in which workers own companies that are supported by the city's big businesses -- has the potential to change the economics of the city and its workers," he begins.
Evergreen Cooperatives, which has been featured in Fresh Water, is an economic model that pairs anchor institutions like the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and University Hospitals -- which spend over $3 billion per year on goods and services -- with new employee-owned businesses.
"Together," explains Hollender, "these organizations collaborated on a business model that is designed to create community wealth in the city's poorest neighborhoods. They do this by committing to invest in businesses not with venture capital, but by purchasing services from them. These purchasing decisions by large institutions fund the development of a network of sustainable, community-based businesses that are partially owned by the workers themselves, which develops a workforce skilled at democratic and participatory management and creates a new generation of leaders committed to rebuilding their communities."
Following a research visit to Cleveland, Hollender had this to report:
"Ohio Cooperative Solar was profitable in its first five months in operation; current annual revenue is projected to be $1.3 million. At the end of the fiscal year, a portion of profits will be allocated to each OCS employee owner's capital account, furthering the idea of people-focused business.
"The Green City Growers, a hydroponic greenhouse, expects to break ground on the construction of a four-acre greenhouse this summer, with its first crop ready for harvest in the spring of 2012. When fully operational, it will produce 5 million heads of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs annually and employ between 30 to 40 workers year-round."
Read the whole of Hollender's examination here.
"Weights. Treadmills. Spin classes. Let's face it," begins the article, "workout innovations just haven't kept pace with advances in TV, iPad, and snack-food technology. That said, a few forward-looking gyms offer activities that might actually compete with our Twitter/Netflix/PizzaRanch fixations."
Writer Steven Nereo calls Ray's the only brand of indoor park in the country built specifically for mountain bikes. "There are separate areas for beginners and experts, with wood ramps and assorted obstacles (like rocks and logs, for example) connected by looping trails. The buildings are closed during the summer months, when Ray's can't compete with Mother Nature's gym."
Ray's will re-open October 1, 2011 -- bigger and better than ever.
After learning about GardenWalk Buffalo from a Plain Dealer article last summer, Clevelanders Jan Kious and Bobbi Reichtell decided to make the trek northeast. Walking around the city and talking to its impassioned urban gardeners soon changed their views of the city. They returned to Cleveland inspired to create a GardenWalk event locally.
Those seeds first sown in Buffalo will bear fruit this Saturday, June 25th, when the first GardenWalk Cleveland takes place. It will feature over 100 residential flower gardens as well as community gardens, urban farms, vineyards and orchards sprinkled throughout four Cleveland neighborhoods: Detroit Shoreway, Harvard/Lee/Miles, Hough and Tremont. Each community will have a headquarters where visitors can find car parking, bike parking, restrooms, water and maps.
In addition to highlighting Cleveland's efforts to create greener, healthier neighborhoods, organizers hope the event will also break down east/west and black/white divisions by bringing together people that love gardening.
Citing the diverse, grassroots group that came together to organize the event as a harbinger of success, Reichtell stated in a release, "This is a shining example of the connections that gardens and greening work create in Cleveland," she said. "Both Clevelanders and visitors from outside the city will love getting a behind-the-scenes look at gardens and farms in Cleveland's neighborhoods."
Source: GardenWalk Cleveland
Writer: Lee Chilcote
In that study, the Brookings' Matthew Hall points to efforts by cities such as Cleveland and Pittsburgh to recruit and welcome foreign workers to town in an attempt to rejuvenate the economy. Also of great importance is the cost-of-living disparity.
"Pittsburgh is an easier place to afford to live the American dream and get your foot in the door," Hall said. "That might sound like a pretty good option to a lot of people."
And perhaps contrary to popular opinion, highly skilled immigrants now outnumber lower-skilled ones in the United States, the report found. They found that 30 percent of the country's working-age immigrants, regardless of legal status, have at least a bachelor's degree. Only 28 percent lack a high school diploma.
Read the entire article here.
Then the global recession hit. Banks stopped lending, businesses halted expansion plans and the nation slid into a great recession. The once-tangible vision of attracting health care and tech companies to the sparkling boulevard seemed like the stuff of dreams.
Yet at MidTown Cleveland's recent annual meeting, civic leaders touted recent developments showing the vaunted Health Tech Corridor is gradually becoming a reality. The Euclid Corridor has created "a globally competitive environment to attract and grow biomedical, health care and medical supply chain businesses in Midtown and beyond," MidTown's annual report stated.
Recent accomplishments include breaking ground on the Midtown Tech Park at Euclid and East 69th, with the help of a $3.5 million Jobs Ready Sites grant; earning a designation as an Ohio "Hub of Innovation and Opportunity" along with $250,000 in funding to implement an action plan for the Health Tech Corridor; seeing the expansion of longstanding businesses such as Pierre's Ice Cream; and spurring the addition of new businesses like Ziska Architects, which relocated from Solon to the historic Gifford House at 3047 Prospect Avenue.
MidTown Cleveland says it's no surprise that businesses are investing here, given the neighborhood's proximity to downtown Cleveland, University Circle and the Cleveland Clinic. Other reasons behind the growth of the area include access to talent and research at nearby institutions and opportunities to collaborate with world-class health care and academic institutions in technology development.
Source: MidTown Cleveland, Inc.
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Recent CWRU mechanical engineering graduates Austin Schmidt and Solomon Alkhasov won the 2011 Idea Competition, sponsored by LaunchHouse and CSU's Accelerated MBA program at Nance College of Business. They created a company called Affinity Algorithms, which develops proprietary computer arbitrage software to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers in various online marketplaces. The software provides greater liquidity and price transparency in the marketplaces.
"We are developing a suite of online software that helps the seller in fragmented marketplaces better manage inventory," explains Schmidt. Although Schmidt and Alkhasov came up with the idea from their experiences buying and selling textbooks in college, they say it can be applied to many online marketplaces.
The idea for Affinity Algorithms came about in January, they set up shop in March, and landed at LaunchHouse this month. They plan to roll out a full build of the software in September.
Students from all Northeast Ohio colleges and universities were invited to pitch a business concept to a panel of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, CSU faculty and LaunchHouse staff. The contest primarily focused on students who had innovative ideas in the fields of software and internet technology, low-tech medical devices and clean energy.
The second winner is Ronny Shalev, also a student at Case. Shalev created a product known as an autonomous intravenous (IV) insertion tool that will be the most effective replacement for the current procedure of manual vein localization and needle insertion. Shalev's tool will completely replace the need for trained medical staff.
Contest winners were each awarded a $2,500 scholarship to the Global AMBA program along with a prize basket of support services from LaunchHouse, "Additionally, we received a $500 check from LaunchHouse, along with a bunch of services that include legal services, accounting, and free space for three months," says Schmidt. "All in all, a very comprehensive package with everything needed to get a business off the ground."
The winners will also have the opportunity to compete for up to $5000 in follow on funding.
Source: Austin Schmidt
Writer: Karin Connelly
When asked such questions, Walton, who is the Director of the nonprofit NEO Restoration Alliance, would extol the virtues of urban farming. She explained the difference between community gardens and urban farmers, who sell their crops to customers via local farmers markets. Yet until recently, she's been unable to point to a truly local example where small-scale farmers could sell their harvest.
That's about to change. This summer, Gateway105 Farmers Market will launch at the intersection of East 105th and Ashbury streets. The market will provide the Glenville, Hough and University Circle neighborhoods with fresh, locally grown food. It will also feature work by local artists, complementary family activities, musical performances and free health screenings from local institutions.
Organizers of the market, which kicks off on Friday, July 1st and runs every Friday through October, hope to reach local residents and University Circle employees who shop for groceries before heading home from work.
The farmers market was organized by NEO Restoration Alliance and the Famicos Foundation, a nonprofit community development organization that serves the Glenville and Hough neighborhoods and develops affordable and market-rate housing.
"This is about building a community of individuals that learn to develop entrepreneurial skills, while providing a service to the community at the same time," says Walton.
Source: Veronica Walton
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Clusters are groupings of manufacturers, suppliers, training programs and researchers.
"Cluster theory holds that manufacturers and suppliers often want to be in proximity to collaborate on product design. Companies want to be near universities to benefit from the latest innovations. And bigger clusters attract still more companies that seek access to a large pool of skilled workers."
Supported by Ohio's Third Frontier and other initiatives, Northeast Ohio's hub of medical, pharmaceutical and bioscience continues to flourish. Since 2001, the number of biomedical firms has more than doubled to 600, and VC investments have increased to $150 million a year compared to just $30 million.
Now on its way, the $465 million Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center will be the world's first marketplace for medical industry buyers and sellers.
Read the whole report here.
New Life Community and Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cleveland (IHN) have come together to form Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, the largest organization in Greater Cleveland focused exclusively on helping homeless families transform their lives and achieve long-term stability while helping families remain together.
The two organizations officially merged on May 1. For the past two years, the organizations have worked to integrate staff, resources and programming to serve more families with even better outcomes at a lower cost per household served. Since 1990, New Life Community has helped more than 700 families. IHN has served more than 450 families since its shelter program was formed in 1998.
Family Promise will serve more than 100 families a year. "The goal is to definitely help families become self-sufficient and find new housing as rapidly as possible, and then maintain their housing long-term," says associate director Sarah Cruise. "By merging we've been able to combine our programming and serve more families long-term."
Two facilities -- an emergency shelter in Tremont for up to six days and interim housing in Mount Pleasant for up to six months -- a job preparedness program and case management services will give families all the resources to get back on their feet. "We're developing a relationship," says Cruise. "We can access services in the community and help with crises, the spiraling down that happens.
The home-based case management aspect of Family Promise is helping to serve more families quickly. "There is such demand for family housing," says Cruise. "By moving families faster, and individualizing the services, we're really serving families in a way that promotes long-term stability."
Source: Sarah Cruise
Writer: Karin Connelly
The hospital's Neurology & Neurosurgery program earned the highest ranking in Ohio for the fourth consecutive year, and ranked 7th nationally. Overall, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital earned national rankings in all 10 specialties evaluated.
"These rankings are a reflection of our unfaltering dedication to providing the highest quality pediatric care and placing the safety of children first," said Interim Chair Ricardo Rodriguez MD. "In the next year we will continue expanding and integrating our subspecialty programs across the Cleveland Clinic health system to offer individualized care to children facing the most complex pediatric conditions."
In the past five years, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital has added more than 156 physicians. A staff of 350 full-time pediatricians and sub-specialists sees more than 500,000 pediatric visits each year and provides hospital care for an average of 200 children each day.
Examine the rest of the report here.
Soon, a national rowing audience will be exposed to these challenges too. At last week's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $3 million Rivergate Park on the Columbus Road peninsula in the Flats, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Cleveland Rowing Foundation announced that they have partnered with USRowing to create a national championship rowing competition.
The first USRowing Masters Head Race National Championship is set for September 16th, 2012 on the Cuyahoga River. Rowers will race in 5,000-meter sweep (one-oar) and sculling (two-oar) competitions.
In a press release, USRowing stated that Cleveland was a natural choice for the inaugural event due to its central location, challenging course and the community's history of support of amateur and national sporting events.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission CEO David Gilbert touted the economic impact that the rowing event would bring to the community. The sports commission has said that it has brought $300 million in economic activity to Northeast Ohio since it was created.
Source: Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, Cleveland Rowing Foundation, USRowing
Writer: Lee Chilcote