CLEVELAND — One local family is working to make sure that medical care is available to new mothers and babies in Northeast Ohio.
According to a press release from University Hospitals (UH), Steve and Loree Potash of Bentleyville, Ohio, have donated $7.5 million to UH to expand Ahuja Medical Center, located in Beachwood.
The large financial gift will be used to create the Steve and Loree Potash Women & Newborn Center.
“UH’s patient-first approach deeply resonates with our family and our values,” said Loree. “We are proud to support UH and to have our name on this remarkable new center, which will benefit families throughout our community. As parents and grandparents, we can think of no better gift to our community than a state-of-the-art home for mothers and babies.”
UH says that the donation will help to "bring the trusted and collaborative care of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and UH MacDonald Women’s hospitals to the eastside, introducing maternal-fetal care and a full spectrum of labor and delivery services to the UH Ahuja campus."
One estimate from the Northeast Ohio hospital system says that the new center will see roughly 2,400 babies born annually, and will provide the most up to date care to new mothers and children.
“Bringing a new baby into the world is among the most special moments in health care and we take pride in offering a loving, caring birthing environment for young families,” said Patti DePompei RN, MSN, President, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and UH MacDonald Women’s hospitals and Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation Chair in Leadership and Innovation. “With the Potash Women & Newborn Center, we will extend this exceptional, family-centered care to UH Ahuja for the first time. I believe it will surpass all expectations and set a new standard of care in the field.”
The donation will also be used to fund a new literacy program, a cause close to the Potash family's heart.
Steve, in addition to sitting on the UH Board of Directors, is the founder of OverDrive, the country's leading e-book reading service. Loree holds a master’s degree in library science from Case Western Reserve University, worked as a librarian, and held multiple positions at OverDrive before retiring.
“Loree and I are dedicated to a world enlightened by reading and improving literacy rates and this program will increase community awareness of and access to books and learning,” said Steve. “More than 10,000 babies are born across the UH system each year – with this program, we hope to spark a love of reading early in children and educate families about the tremendous, free access they have to books and resources through the library system.”
