MetroHealth, Cleveland Metroparks Partner for a Healthier Cleveland
The MetroHealth System and Cleveland Metroparks are proud to announce a five-year partnership that will leverage both institutions’ shared passion and commitment to wellness and equity to build a healthier community for everyone.
As its official health care partner, MetroHealth will collaborate with Cleveland Metroparks on several hallmark events enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people each year – Asian Lantern Festival, Trick-or-Treat Fest, Grandparents Day at the Zoo and others – with health screenings, wellness programming and more. Additionally, MetroHealth and Cleveland Metroparks are working on future opportunities to celebrate the diversity of the community both organizations serve.
The partnership will also build on Cleveland Metroparks’ innovative new mobile app presented by MetroHealth to inspire exercise and other fitness activities throughout the parks’ more than 24,000 acres of nature and 300 miles of hiking and biking trails. Download the free mobile app at clevelandmetroparks.com/app.
“Building a healthier Cleveland takes an incredible amount of collaboration between institutions, and we can’t imagine a more natural partnership than one with a 104-year track record of caring for our community,” said MetroHealth President and CEO Akram Boutros, MD, FACHE. “Last year, our friends, family and neighbors visited the Cleveland Metroparks nearly 20 million times. Those visits keep us healthy by helping to reduce stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and boost our immune systems. They prevent disease.”
“Our partnership with MetroHealth and the impact our collective efforts can have on the community is significant,” said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman. “Together we can offer a holistic approach to wellness that extends throughout Northeast Ohio.”
MetroHealth is currently in the midst of an ambitious makeover of its 52-acre main campus on West 25th Street, which includes the MetroHealth Glick Center, a new 11-floor hospital, and a direct link to Cleveland Metroparks. The reimagined campus – often described as a “Hospital in a Park” – will feature green space, gardens, walking paths and access to Cleveland Metroparks' portion of the Towpath Trail.
Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.
