Why Choose The Cole Eye Institute

Overview

Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute is a perfect combination of form and function. Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the building is a significant architectural landmark and provides an ideal environment for research and top quality patient care, comfort and convenience. We have everything to make your eye surgery experience as convenient and comfortable as possible.

Cole Eye Institute treats adults and children with all ophthalmic conditions, performing basic eye care and advanced eye surgery. Thousands of international patients travel to receive treatment, including all types of eye surgery, at the institute every year. A large team of researchers is committed to making breakthroughs in retinal disease. Eye surgery - ranging from cataract surgery to macular surgery - is performed daily by our world-class staff.

Every aspect of this building was designed with patient needs in mind. Parking is easily accessible and valet parking is offered. The open, spacious lobby warmly greets patients and large-print signs help them find their way easily. Natural lighting throughout the building eases the strain on eyes that are dilated or otherwise uncomfortable. All nonsurgical patient visits start on the second floor, which features a centralized check-in desk and pagers to let patients know when it is their turn. When additional diagnostic tests are needed, a designated elevator takes patients directly from the examination area to the testing area. A separate waiting area for children has games and an aquarium to help keep them occupied.

The surgical facility is designed to have all preoperative testing in one location. The five operating rooms incorporate the latest equipment to perform eye surgery, like macular surgery and cataract surgery, safely and effectively. A special waiting area lets family members talk to the surgeon in a private setting after the eye surgery. When it is time for patients to go home, a nurse escorts them in a wheelchair to the special discharge area where a family member can drive right up to the door.

Many procedures developed at the Cole Eye Institute have been adopted by ophthalmologists around the world, and the institute offers the largest hospital-based continuing medical education program in the United States. Our residency and fellowship programs are highly competitive and draw many applicants each year.

Cleveland Clinic is recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care.

Cleveland Clinic's Cole Eye Institute specializes in a range of options for treating eye diseases, such as eye surgery, retina disease, diabetic retinopathy and many others.

Our New Expansion

The Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Building

Construction will begin on the new 150,000-square-foot Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Building at Cole Eye Institute in the fall of 2022. This project will be completed at the end of 2025.

This expansion project has been fueled by Cleveland Clinic’s exponential growth over the past decade. It not only involves the new building, but also a renovation of the existing 130,000-square-foot Cole Eye Institute building. The two buildings will connect to create an integrated eye center designed to provide exceptional clinical care, diagnostic and surgical services to a rapidly growing number of patients. This will also be a place of innovation and groundbreaking research.

The new facility will feature 10-12 new operating rooms, 50 new exam rooms, a new refractive surgery suite, a dedicated area for oculoplastics, and new space for research and education that will allow a new Center of Excellence in Ophthalmic Imaging and expansion of the Louise Timken Ophthalmic Education Center.

The Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Building Groundbreaking

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• Ceremonial groundbreaking for Cole Eye Institution expansion.

• Rendering of The Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Building expansion.

• Tom Mihaljevic, MD, Chief Executive Officer and President, Jeffery & Patricia Cole, Daniel Martin, MD, Chair of The Cole Eye Institute.

• Jeffery & Patricia Cole

• Jeffery Cole and Tom Mihaljevic, MD, Chief Executive Officer and President

• Daniel Martin, MD, Chair of The Cole Eye Institute.

• Jeffery and Patricia Cole speaking at the Cole Eye expansion groundbreaking.

• Tom Mihaljevic, MD, Chief Executive Officer and President speaking at the Cole Eye expansion groundbreaking.

Leadership

Daniel F. Martin, MD 
Chairman, Cole Eye Institute

Andrew P. Schachat, MD
Institute Vice Chairman and Institute Quality Review Officer

Elias I. Traboulsi, MD, MEd 
Vice-Chairman for Education

Philanthropy & Community Outreach

Your role in preventing blindness

Eyesight is a priceless gift, a gift you can give by supporting the work of the Cole Eye Institute. You can designate your gift to the Cole Eye Institute and its Research, Education or Macular Degeneration Fund.

Your support will help us continue developing new treatments for eye diseases that will save or restore a patient’s eyesight. With your help, the Cole Eye Institute can continue advancing treatments for eye diseases and shaping the future of eye care — so someone doesn’t have to imagine life without eyesight.

Request More Information

To request more information about making a charitable gift, call or send an email to:

Mayme Patthoff
Senior Director of Development
216.445.7834
patthom@ccf.org

How you can help

You can help by making a contribution in a variety of ways:

A gift

Cash gifts, usually in the form of checks, are the most popular type of charitable contribution. Donors will qualify for an income tax charitable deduction for a gift of cash.

A charitable lead trust

The most flexible of the charitable trusts, a Charitable Lead Trust is an effective way to transfer wealth to children or grandchildren while reducing the amount of transfer tax.

The donor first transfers assets to a trust. After paying income to Cleveland Clinic, the trust transfers the remainder to designated heirs.

A life-income gift

Several forms of gifts provide donors or their named beneficiaries an income for life while committing resources to future use by Cleveland Clinic. Donors to any of these life-income arrangements are entitled to charitable deductions in the year the gift is made for part of its fair market value, and are often able to increase their spendable income.

Gifts of long-term appreciated property also avoid or defer tax on the capital gain.

• A charitable remainder trust may be funded with cash, securities or real property. One or two beneficiaries named by the donor will receive income on a quarterly basis for a period of years or their lifetime. At maturity, the trust principal is transferred to Cleveland Clinic.
• A charitable gift annuity is an agreement between a donor and Cleveland Clinic in which the donor makes a gift and one or two designated beneficiaries receive a guaranteed income for life. Some of this may be tax free.
• Cleveland Clinic's Pooled Income Fund pools gifts in the form of cash or securities from many donors for investment purposes. Beneficiaries designated by the donors receive a proportionate share of the net income earned by the fund, quarterly, for life.

A charitable bequest provision

A charitable bequest is an easy way to make a meaningful gift to Cleveland Clinic. The full amount of the bequest is deductible from a taxable estate.

Naming opportunities

A permanent legacy in the name of a donor or designee (such as a family member or physician) can be created through a gift to support the Cole Eye Institute. Please contact us for more information on naming opportunities.

Personal fundraising page

You can create a personal Cleveland Clinic Fundraising Page to honor a loved one or celebrate a special event. Share your page with friends and family to raise support for research and world-class care at Cleveland Clinic.

• Honor a loved one or caregiver: A simple, yet powerful way to appreciate and cherish a special someone who has touched your life.
• Remember someone special: Pay tribute to the life of a family member, friend or colleague by creating a page in his or her memory.
• Celebrate the milestones in your life: whether it’s a birthday, bar or bat mitzvah, anniversary, wedding or the end of medical treatment, you can set up a fund to mark your special occasion.

• Learn more about how you can get involved and support Cleveland Clinic.

Thank you for your support

Thank you for your consideration in supporting the Cole Eye Institute. We appreciate the generous support that we receive from the philanthropic community. Philanthropic support is helping to elevate the Cole Eye Institute to be among the best eye care providers and allows us to continue conducting cutting edge research and make breakthroughs in visual science to help those with eye diseases.

Community outreach

Cleveland Clinic & KOHL'S Cares Vision First Program

Vision First was launched in 2002 through collaborative efforts of the Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland’s philanthropic community. A partnership with KOHL’S Cares was established in 2013. Together we will help Northeast Ohio students in need of eye treatment, seek and gain the advanced care to correct their vision.

• Learn more about Cleveland Clinic & KOHL'S Cares Vision First Program.