The communities Cleveland Clinic serves are close to our hearts. Our neighbors are our extended family and we care deeply about meeting their needs. Of course that means providing the most advanced, accessible and compassionate healthcare in our hospitals and clinics. But we also must provide for our neighbors’ well-being in other ways. That starts with being a good listener — regularly engaging with community members and leaders, asking how we can help, then taking action.
Our top priority is to protect the most vulnerable. We are working with our community partners to address urgent issues: food insecurity and childhood hunger; infant and maternal health; the threat of lead poisoning in homes; mental health concerns, especially among children and adolescents; and the barriers and disparities that keep underserved people from getting the care they deserve. As Ohio’s largest employer and a major employer in every community we serve, Cleveland Clinic strives to improve economic conditions for all. We do this by recruiting, training and hiring local people; investing in neighborhood development projects, including affordable housing; and contracting with diverse suppliers to grow businesses and increase employment. We seek a better future by educating tomorrow’s caregivers, helping young people enter healthcare careers, and funding medical research that saves lives.
Our mission to uplift the communities we call home is not limited to Northeast Ohio. It is our calling everywhere Cleveland Clinic is located. We are proud to say that, in 2022, our community benefit contribution totaled $1.42 billion.
The Community Benefit provided by Cleveland Clinic is far-reaching, from providing accessible healthcare, to educating the next generation of healthcare professionals, funding medical research that leads to advanced treatments and cures, and supporting community health initiatives.
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Protecting children from exposure to lead, which is toxic, is a top community priority for Cleveland Clinic. We operate and staff two mobile lead testing units that travel to Early Head Start and other locations. More than 110 children were tested in 2023.
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With no health insurance, Roy Humphrey couldn’t afford his heart failure medication. Thanks to Cleveland Clinic Akron General’s ICARE (Integrating Clinical and Resource Evaluations) program, Humphrey and other residents of lower-income areas near the hospital can access resources to improve their health. Humphrey qualified for financial assistance, covering some of his medical care, medications, food and utilities. He also received help exploring insurance options.
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The Cleveland Clinic Community Health and Education Center at the Langston Hughes Center in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood has provided a wide variety of health and wellness services to community residents since opening in 2009. The center’s exercise room is a popular location.
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Since 2010, Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada, has offered a preprofessional training program that provides opportunities for Nevada students to learn about healthcare careers. Arturo Montes Jr., MD (left), now a neurology resident, is a former undergraduate intern at the Ruvo Center, where he was mentored by the center’s Director, Dylan Wint, MD (right). Dr. Montes is the first in his family to graduate from college. He calls Dr. Wint “one of the most influential people in my life.”
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Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals operate the Diversity Equity Inclusion Supplier Accelerator program. The business mentorship helps companies owned by underrepresented entrepreneurs succeed and grow by providing their owners with intensive training and networking opportunities, as well as $10,000 in financial support.
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In Martin County, Florida, Cleveland Clinic teamed up with House of Hope, a nonprofit organization that assists people facing hardship or hunger. The partnership supports greenhouses that provide produce for area food banks and food pantries, and the Traveling Nutrition Education Garden, which has helped thousands of people in underserved neighborhoods learn about nutrition concepts and healthy eating.
Community Health Needs Assessment Reports
The Cleveland Clinic health system completed comprehensive community health needs assessments (CHNAs), which included all communities surrounding the system’s hospitals and family health centers. The goals of these assessments were to identify and evaluate health-related needs in the communities Cleveland Clinic serves and to use this information to fulfill our mission.
