Meijer donates $2 million to the Cleveland Clinic Children's healthcare program providing care to Northeast Ohio students

CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a story published on February 22, 2021.

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Clinic announced that it has received a $2 million donation from Meijer to expand the Cleveland Clinic Children's school-based healthcare program. 

According to a press release, the donation will be used to purchase a second mobile healthcare unit that will travel between school districts in Northeast Ohio.  

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“We know education is a social determinant of health and can have a lifelong impact on a person’s health and wellbeing,” said Roopa Thakur, M.D., FAAP, pediatrician and medical director of Cleveland Clinic Children’s school-based healthcare program. “Missing school due to health concerns, or not accessing care because you don’t want to miss school, can disrupt a child’s long-term health and development. Our program aims to help combat this by offering pediatric healthcare services while also ensuring kids stay in school and parents don’t miss work for an office visit.”

The Cleveland Clinic says that the mobile unit is able to operate as a full-service pediatric office to children around the region, including providing physical examinations, treating illnesses, and providing immunizations to students regardless of whether that child has health insurance. 

The Clinic says that during the 2019-20 school year, the first mobile unit was able to serve nearly 2,000 students. 

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The second unit will provide the opportunity for the Cleveland Clinic to expand enrollment in Cleveland Metropolitan School District, East Cleveland, Step Forward Greater Cleveland, Maple Heights, Warrensville Heights, and Lakewood. 

“Meijer cares deeply about the communities we serve, especially the health and wellbeing of the people who live in them,” Meijer President & CEO Rick Keyes said. “We’re pleased to continue our partnership with Cleveland Clinic to not only expand convenient access to healthcare services for children, but to also meet them where they are – at school.”

The clinics are still able to provide on-site healthcare to students, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Editor's note: the video in the player below is from a story published on Feb. 20, 2021.