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Together, they're going after public, private funding to develop business plan for academic health center
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
Published on Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The Akron area's major hospitals, university and medical school are taking another step toward joining forces for research and education.
The University of Akron Foundation is securing $881,200 in public and private funds to create a business plan to develop a regional partnership known as the Akron Academic Health Center.
Summit County and Akron are being asked to contribute $50,000 each toward the plan. County Council could vote on the proposal as early as Monday.
County Executive Russ Pry said the taxpayer investment is worthwhile because it could lead to a $300 million project in Akron.
The academic health center concept calls for UA to team up with Summa Health System, Akron General Medical Center, Akron Children's Hospital and the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy to boost medical research and education in the region and ultimately im
prove health services, Summa spokesman Mike Bernstein said on behalf of the five partners.
By definition, academic health centers include a medical school, at least one allied health school (such as nursing or pharmacy) and one or more affiliated teaching hospitals.
Business plan in works
The five partners are developing a business plan to determine exactly how an academic health center would be run, what programs would be included and where a new facility would be located if needed, Bernstein said.
''The goal is to create an academic health center to capitalize off the combined health-care, health science and health research strengths,'' he said.
Although Akron's three hospitals are talking about working more closely together to form an academic health center, ''you are not going to see combining of clinical programs,'' Bernstein said. ''We are not becoming one organization. . . . We envision the eventual academic health center as a way to increase and enhance services that our organizations already provide.''
The partners want the academic health center to create more jobs, attract venture capital, spawn at least five startup companies annually and secure $250 million in research grants within seven years after its creation, according to a project summary prepared by the University of Akron Foundation.
Bernstein said they hope to finalize the business plan by next year but a timeline to launch the center has not been determined.
A private foundation is paying for half of the $881,200 to develop the business plan, University of Akron Vice President John LaGuardia told Summit County Council on Monday night. If the city and county provide $100,000, the three Akron hospitals, UA and NEOUCOM would divide the remaining $340,600 cost.
Bernstein said the Knight Foundation has been supportive of the project from the start.
At the same time, work is continuing on a related proposal for several Northeast Ohio partners to team up for orthopedic research.
Orthopedic proposal
A partnership led by the University of Akron is waiting to hear this month whether it will land a state grant for nearly $23 million to boost research in Northeast Ohio focused on bone, joint and connective-tissue problems. The partners want to use money from the Ohio Research Scholars Program to recruit scholars and supporting research staff to form the Orthopaedic Research Cluster of Northeast Ohio.
The cluster would bring together researchers and physicians from UA, NEOUCOM, Akron's three hospital systems, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic.
The Association of Academic Health Centers estimates there are more than 100 academic health centers nationwide, though their structure varies.
Some have medical schools embedded in a larger university, while others involve partners located on different campuses, according to the association.
By coming together, proponents say, academic health centers can boost efficiency and productivity, especially for research.
The health sector already dominates the local economy, with Akron's three hospitals ranking among the county's largest employers.
An executive summary from the county described the proposed academic health center as having the potential ''to become an economic engine in Summit County, expanding upon the health-care research, education and treatment sectors that are becoming an important part of Northeast Ohio's economy.''
Beacon Journal staff writer Rick Armon contributed to this report.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Akron area's major hospitals, university and medical school are taking another step toward joining forces for research and education.
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