When UC Health and the University of Cincinnati opened the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute outpatient building five years ago, the intent was to transform how neurological care is delivered and how neuroscience clinicians and researchers collaborate.
Building upon the legacy of the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute, which was created in 1999, the building was expected to transform how patients and families receive care, become a national destination for patients across the U.S., and accelerate collaboration among clinicians and researchers by bringing them under one roof for the first time.
“Our vision was to create a space to accelerate our work in the neurosciences and provide hope for patients with neurologic diseases here and across the world,” said Joseph Broderick, MD, director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute. “I am proud to say that we are delivering upon that promise.”
Five years after its opening, the four-story, 114,000-square-foot building has become a national destination for patient care as well as clinical and translational research.
Since April 2019, UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute clinicians have cared for patients from more than 1,800 zip codes across the U.S., including more than 80,000 patients from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute researchers have also received $78.6 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over the past five years.
The UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute is also home to the National Coordinating Center for NIH Strokenet, the primary infrastructure for multicenter trials of stroke funded by NIH and the pipeline for new potential treatments for adults and children with stroke and those at risk for stroke.
Across UC Health and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, more than 650 clinical trials are currently open, offering patients the opportunity to participate in leading-edge research that will define the treatments of tomorrow.
“Clinical and scientific research is central to the mission of UC Health and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the collaborative nature of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute has accelerated neurological research in new and exciting ways to help advance medicine for all,” said Brett Kissela, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the UC College of Medicine, Chief of Research Services for UC Health and the Albert Barnes Voorheis Endowed Chair of the Department of Neurology & Rehabilitation Medicine.
The Institute also continues to innovate in the delivery of patient care, from launching the region’s first Mobile Stroke Unit in 2020 to creating new Learning Health System models that transform how neurological care is delivered.
“The UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute builds upon the University of Cincinnati and UC Health’s long history of providing patient-centered care, leading-edge research and innovative treatments,” said Joseph Cheng, MD, associate director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “We are excited for what the future holds.”
The Institute is delivering upon the tradition of patient-centered care and innovation that was first envisioned 25 years ago when the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute was created under the leadership of John Tew, Jr., MD.
“The Institute started back in 1999 with an investment of $1 million a year to bring together a diverse group of physicians from different specialties who could work together to develop a comprehensive neuroscience institute,” Broderick said. “We had five centers initially that we thought met our criteria for excellence in research, clinical care and education. Now we have 13 centers and three programs, with 125 physicians from 15 different specialties, working together with the patient as the center.”
Today, the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute provides comprehensive care for the most complex neurological patients across 15 specialties, including treatments for Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, brain tumors, mood disorders, stroke, neuromuscular diseases such as ALS, diseases of the spine, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Home to 25 (basic) laboratory scientists and 125 physicians and researchers recognized around the world for their expertise, the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute is involved in more than 120 research studies and clinical trials annually and its researchers have more than 100 articles featured in peer-reviewed academic journals each year.
In addition to outpatient care and research, the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute performs more than 2,700 neurosurgical procedures each year at UC Medical Center and West Chester Hospital, and more than 1,000 patients are referred to UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute’s specialists and subspecialists from other healthcare providers each year.
The first new building constructed on UC Health’s Clifton Campus in 30 years, the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute outpatient building was designed by global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will. Input from patients and families was incorporated into every aspect, from the lighting and waiting areas, to clinical care rooms and accessible parking. Cincinnati-based Messer Construction Co., whose portfolio includes numerous healthcare facilities, was the general contractor for the project. The building has won 18 international, national, and regional architecture and construction awards for its innovative and patient-centered design
The $68 million UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute outpatient building was made possible in part by the generosity of the Cincinnati community, including a $14 million gift from the James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Foundation and a $5 million gift from the Farmer Foundation. The UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute is located at 3113 Bellevue Ave., Cincinnati, Oh. 45219.