from University Hospitals: Medical Legal Partnership Receives Sustaining Gift, Additional Support

A sustaining gift of $600,000 from Benesch will support the continuation of UH’s innovative Medical Legal Partnership with The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. Benesch is the program’s founding partner and, since 2018, has positively impacted patient care at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Ahuja Center for Women & Children through legal expertise and support; their renewed commitment will support a full-time, onsite attorney at the health center for an additional five years.

UH providers and Legal Aid attorneys work together to educate physicians, nurses, social workers and other clinical personnel about health-harming legal needs that may be affecting their patients. Those staff members then help identify and refer patients who need legal assistance. Cases can include assistance with public benefits such as Medicaid, educational concerns, housing needs, custody issues, and public utility problems.

Building a Stronger Community

“Through the Medical Legal Partnership, we are helping historically underserved children and families thrive in healthier environments, which leads to healthier outcomes for generations and a stronger community,” said Gregg Eisenberg, Managing Partner, Benesch. “Since its inception, more than 2,500 people have benefitted from these integrated legal services. After seeing those statistics, it made the decision to renew our commitment to the Medical Legal Partnership an easy one.”

“This program is dependent on the generosity of donors in the community like Benesch, who have been so wonderful from the very beginning,” said Patti M. DePompei, RN, MSN, President, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s and MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation Chair in Leadership and Innovation. “A community is only as healthy as the individuals who reside in that community and this partnership really optimizes health for everyone.”

An additional $100,000 gift from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP will expand the program for the next two years, creating a network of on-call attorneys with diverse specialties and backgrounds.

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Source: University Hospitals - Medical Legal Partnership Receives Sustaining Gift, Additional Support