Farmer Family gifts $2.6M to UC Health to support neurological care

The Farmer Family Foundation has donated $2.6 million to UC Health to help transform specialized neurological care at University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Funding will go toward a long-planned, $8 million renovation of the neuroscience floor and neuro intensive care unit inside the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute at the medical center. Started in 2022, the fundraising campaign launched by the James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Foundation to support major upgrades of the hospital’s neuroscience floor and neuro intensive care unit.

Patients on a neuroscience floor may have conditions like stroke, seizures, brain tumors or multiple sclerosis. The neuro-ICU provides critically ill neurological and neurosurgical patients, such as those with severe brain injuries, with close monitoring and around-the-clock treatment.

UC Medical Center is home to the region’s only academic neuro-ICU. It has more than 125 subspecialty-trained physicians and researchers as well as nurses, medical students, residents, fellows and nurse practitioners working to gain knowledge and expertise in neurocritical intensive care.

“Our community is fortunate to have access to world-class critical care treatment,” said Mary Beth Martin, executive director of the Farmer Family Foundation. “The Farmer family is pleased to support this tremendous work and the assistance it provides patients and families.”

A history of support

The Farmer Family Foundation has a history of supporting the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute. The local grant-making organization previously gifted $9 million toward its mission.

Thanks to the gift, UC Health can move forward with its extensive first-floor renovation. Projects include:

• Upgrading 52 patient rooms.
• Transforming the lobby and family waiting areas, including a patient education area and two new conference rooms for family consultations.
• Creating comfortable accommodations that include bathrooms with showering and changing facilities so families can stay close to their loved ones.
• Installing a circadian lighting system to promote natural sleep patterns and reduce the risk of depression, resulting in better patient outcomes up to a year after their stay.
• Designing nurse workstations outside patient rooms with a direct line of sight to the patient through windows, rather than being stationed in the middle of the floor.

The inpatient care unit and neuro-ICU renovations began in June. The overall renovation will take two years to complete.“Philanthropy and long-time supporters like the Farmer Family Foundation have been crucial to the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute regarding patient care and advances in research,” said Cory Shaw, president and CEO at UC Health. “This investment will impact our patients and our academic health system, allowing us to provide unsurpassed neurological care.”