For more than 150 years, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has been an integral part of the city of Cleveland. Beyond providing for the health of those living in our community, we are also proud of our role as an economic engine in the Campus District. 

So this year, we took the opportunity of our new signature fundraising event, Caritas to tell a bit about our story and to celebrate a new partnership that strengthens the economic development and vitality of our neighborhood. 

Caritas means "love for all" and it is central to the mission of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. Our event, Caritas, is a celebration of that love and a poignant reminder of how love heals.

In extending the healing ministry of Jesus to all who walk through our doors at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, our caregivers live Christ's most fundamental commandment ... to love and care for all of our brothers and sisters. We are grateful to the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the courageous and committed women who have devoted their lives to this ministry.

Margaret Wong, Dr. Lloyd Cook, Mary Martin, RN, and Eugene Jordan are extraordinary people. We are proud to show how they each use their God-given talents to make life better for so many who are ill or at their most vulnerable. 

An attorney, a physician, a nurse and a painter. Each a humble servant who gives all so that others may have hope. It is our privilege to honor them.

We were grateful to be joined by our Caritas co-chairs, Tony and Rachelle Coyne and Zydrunas and Jennifer Ilgauskas. And we are incredibly thankful to Medical Mutual and all of our generous sponsors and benefactors for their ongoing support of our good work. 

“An attorney, a physician, a nurse and a painter. Each a humble servant who gives all so that others may have hope. It is our privilege to honor them.”

The Central neighborhood has been our home in Cleveland for more than 150 years. We were pleased to announce a collaboration with Cleveland State University that seeks to expand on the existing academic and medical hub in the Campus District. Individually, St. Vincent Charity and CSU are powerful economic drivers, representing hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy and thousands of jobs. Together, these two anchor institutions play an integral role in the ongoing revitalization of Cleveland, the Campus District and the Central neighborhood. 

Early in 2016, St. Vincent Charity and CSU began exploring ways in which we could work together to make a greater impact on our city and region. For example, through a collaboration between the St. Vincent Charity Spine and Orthopedic Institute and the CSU Washkewicz College of Engineering, researchers are working together to improve rehabilitation techniques and create new prosthetic technology. And that's just the beginning. 

“As anchor institutions, we recognize our responsibility to serve the people of Cleveland. Together, St. Vincent and CSU are committed to this mission. — Cleveland State University President Ronald M. Berkman”

Additional initiatives have included engagements between St. Vincent Charity and CSU faculty and researchers in the colleges of engineering, sciences and health professions, nursing and law. St. Vincent Charity is also a teaching site for CSU's joint medical degree program with Northeast Ohio Medical University, which is dedicated to training a more diverse group of healthcare professionals to meet the unique healthcare needs of urban neighborhoods. 

“As this collaboration develops and matures, I am confident that others will want to help us grow these efforts in scope and sophistication. — Dr. David F. Perse, President and CEO, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center”

True to our respective missions, we are currently exploring ways in which we can address the opiate epidemic in a collaborative manner that not only expands treatment in the short term, but also identifies new evidence-based research that will address tomorrow's challenges.

"As anchor institutions, we recognize our responsibility to serve the people of Cleveland," said Cleveland State University President Ronald M. Berkman. "Together, St. Vincent and CSU are committed to this mission." 

"Not even a year into our partnership and our collaboration is already generating tangible results," said Dr. David F. Perse, president and CEO of St. Vincent Charity. 

Dr. Perse announced that more than a half-million dollars in gifts have been raised in support of the collaboration. Among those gifs are:

• $250,000 of the Robert S. and Germaine Lahiff Hines Endowment has been earmarked for tuition scholarships for St. Vincent nurses who wish to advance their RN degree to a BSN. Those funds will be used to help caregivers further their education at CSU's School of Nursing.
• $200,000 in each of the next three years was recently committed by the Everest Foundation for the Residency Program at St. Vincent Charity, including projects with researchers at Cleveland State.
• $100,000 of the $465,000 raised at the Caritas event will be used to further develop the partnership with CSU.

"As this collaboration develops and matures, I am confident that others will want to help us grow these efforts in scope and sophistication," said Dr. Perse. Watch all five videos celebrating our "love for all" on our YouTube Channel. 

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlGoIkRWhEo&w=854&h=480]

Enjoy some of the photos from our big night!