New center pioneers brain health in Las Vegas
The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas and Cleveland celebrated its grand opening on May 22 in the unique, visually striking building that internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry designed expressly for the center.
The celebration took place the day after the opening of the Life Activity Center, which marked the completion of the building. The Life Activity Center is a dedicated space for hosting medical education conferences and other events.
The building “represents a dream come true for everyone who has worked so hard to make the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health a reality,” said Las Vegas businessman and philanthropist Larry Ruvo. “This is a perfect integration of Cleveland Clinic’s mission and excellence in patient care, research and education and what we want to create here in Las Vegas.”
The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health had its beginnings in the mid 1990s, when Larry Ruvo set a goal of conquering Alzheimer’s disease, which took his father’s life. He established the Keep Memory Alive organization to support research into brain disorders in honor of his father, Lou Ruvo, who passed away in 1994.
Mr. Ruvo and Keep Memory Alive recently partnered with Cleveland Clinic and, in 2009, together they opened the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, in Las Vegas. The mission of the center, which is part of Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute, is to prevent disabling symptoms of chronic brain diseases and prolong healthy, vital aging in people who are at risk of dementia or cognitive disorders.
Mr. Ruvo, the Senior Managing Director of Southern Wine & Spirits, a large beverage distribution company, selected Cleveland Clinic because he was impressed by President and CEO Delos M.
“Toby” Cosgrove, MD, who struck him as “a can-do, no-bureaucracy, let’s-get-it-done kind of guy,” he says. “I believed that if anybody could build a center of excellence, Toby could.”
The center began accepting patients on July 13, 2009, and it is estimated that, at full capacity, more than 18,000 patient visits will take place each year.
Mr. Ruvo says his goal is to find a cure for disorders of the brain. “I’d like to be one of those team members behind the next Jonas Salk,” he says. “When he or she comes up with a cure, I could sit back with a smile on my face and be very proud.”
A version of this story appeared in the summer 2010 issue of Cleveland Clinic Magazine.
To make a gift supporting Keep Memory Alive, the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, the Neurological Institute or any area of Cleveland Clinic, visit our secure online giving site, or call Institutional Relations and Development at 216.444.1245 or toll-free at 800.223.2273, ext. 41245.
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