Cleveland Clinic Receives $1 Million Gift to Support Center for Functional Medicine

Cleveland Clinic has received a four-year, $1 million gift from Pure Encapsulations that will support its Center for Functional Medicine. The gift will be used for clinical research, education, curriculum development, community programs, and policy change initiatives.

“A growing number of patients, especially those with chronic conditions, are finding relief with functional medicine, which focuses on the underlying causes of disease,” said Dr. Mark Hyman, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine. “This generous gift provides us with the opportunity to educate health-care providers, as well as consumers, about the benefits of the functional medicine model.”

Functional medicine is based on the evidence that lifestyle factors such as nutrition,
sleep, exercise, stress levels, relationships and genetics are major contributors to disease. Pure Encapsulations produces a line of hypoallergenic nutritional supplements, which are an important component of the functional medicine model.

“We realize the transformative power of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine on our modern healthcare system,” said Joy Devins, vice president of Pure Encapsulations. “Pure Encapsulations is ecstatic to have been involved with the center since its inception and to support research, education and community programs that will change the way healthcare is delivered across the globe.”

Cleveland Clinic functional medicine physicians are working with specialists to set up four clinical trials studying the effect of functional medicine on the treatment of asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, migraines, and type 2 diabetes.
“In the spirit of innovation, the Cleveland Clinic was the first major, academic medical center to embrace functional medicine, and patients are coming from across the country to be treated,” said Dr. Patrick Hanaway, medical director of the Center for Functional Medicine. “This gift will help further our research to show the impact functional medicine can have on patients.”
Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine opened in September 2014, in collaboration with the Institute for Functional Medicine.

About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. More than 3000 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. The Cleveland Clinic health system includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland; 8 community hospitals; more than 75 Northern Ohio outpatient locations, including 16 full-service Family Health Centers; Cleveland Clinic Florida; the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas; Cleveland Clinic Canada; and, scheduled to begin seeing patients in 2015, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2012, there were 5.1 million outpatient visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 157,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 130 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.