Posted May 12, 20188:36 am
University Hospitals will begin a medical-legal partnership with The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland when it opens its Rainbow Center for Women & Children facility serving the Hough and Fairfax neighborhoods in July.
And it's all thanks to a large donation by Cleveland law firm Benesch.
The MLP effectively marks a culmination of efforts by each institution. For the hospital, which serves primary care needs for roughly 43,000 women and children, it's a chance to better help lower-income Cleveland families and address what have become known as social determinants of health: the societal factors that impact a population's health, such as access to proper housing and services for children with disabilities, among many other things.
To Cleveland's nonprofit legal aid group — which was an early adopter of MLPs that number more than 300 across the country today — it's a furthering of its shared mission to address those societal factors and serve the needy.
And for Benesch, which is providing $550,000 to fund a full-time legal aid attorney at the UH facility for five years ($110,000 annually), it's not only an effort to support the community, but to promote its commitment to diversity, provide further pro-bono opportunities for its attorneys and support other core values of Benesch.
Click here to read the full Crain's Cleveland article.