Roe Green gives University Hospitals $14 million for global health

CLEVELAND, June 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Northeast Ohio philanthropist and avid world traveler Roe Green generously donated $14 million to expand University Hospitals' global health efforts. The Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine & Global Health will help improve human health around the world through outreach and education.

"Roe Green has become a great friend and an ardent supporter of UH's global health efforts. She has traveled with our physicians to our programs in Uganda where we have been working for 30 years to bring down rates of tuberculosis and HIV and are now addressing non-communicable diseases which are increasing at an alarming rate," said Robert Salata, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine. "With this gift, we will mutually benefit from experts here at UH and from around the world to build on our longstanding commitment to improve human health at home and around the world."

A defining feature of the Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine & Global Health will be its focus on the bilateral exchange of information and expertise. The center will support UH clinicians as they travel around the globe to gain, share and apply knowledge. It will also encourage international leaders and trainees to visit UH for instruction and collaboration. These initiatives will increase overall medical knowledge, combat health disparities, focus on prevention, and share state-of-the-art techniques and therapies through hands-on programs, lectures and symposia.

UH currently supports resident and fellow exchange programs with 15 countries, including Japan, Laos, Brazil, Portugal, Uganda, South Africa and Sierra Leone, and international experiences are valued components of many residency and fellowship programs. For example, UH's WONDOOR program brings Guyanese OB/GYN clinicians to Cleveland for comprehensive training and also sends a post-graduate fellow from UH to learn about the healthcare structures of other countries, economic and humanitarian rights influences on healthcare for women and international health ethics.

"We are exceedingly grateful to Roe for her generous support of our global health initiatives," said Thomas F. Zenty III, CEO of UH. "This gift will allow UH to expand the knowledge of our clinicians, share information and experiences with others around the world, and help make a real and lasting difference in the lives of many.

"Roe's extraordinary generosity places her among an elite group of our most generous donors, known as UH Visionaries for their extraordinary commitment to advancing the hospital's mission and their transformative impact on the future of UH," said Mr. Zenty.

The center, which builds on an earlier gift from Ms. Green for travel medicine, is also a national and regional "go to" for pre-travel, in-travel and post-travel expertise and care. With nationally-recognized leadership, the center is widely respected for helping patients with complex existing conditions manage their medical needs while abroad, and evaluating and treating ill travelers, immigrants and foreign visitors in the region.

Ms. Green has had a lifelong passion for travel and began going overseas with her parents as a teenager. Since then, she has visited more than 160 countries and feels travel is an important educational tool.

"Travel has always been in my blood and I have been very blessed to see so much of the world," said Ms. Green. "Outreach and education are valuable tools for addressing global health concerns. By supporting this program's expansion, it is my hope that the flow of information between UH's incredible clinicians and our partners abroad will help improve health for all."

The center's services are available at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, as well as UH Minoff and UH Westlake health centers. For more information about the Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine & Global Health, call 1-866-UH4-CARE or go to www.uhhospitals.org/services/travel-medicine/roe-green-center-for-travel-medicine

SOURCE University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center