CLEVELAND — An Ohio businessman donated $15.5 million to the Cleveland Clinic in order to support the hospital system’s future Neurological Institute building and epilepsy research.
The donation, received from the Charles L. Shor Foundation, will see $10 million go to the new building while $5.5 million will support an epilepsy study on the link between stress and seizures.
Shor is a Cincinnati businessman and philanthropist who was diagnosed with epilepsy in his 20s. He’s found success by growing his family company Duro Bag Manufacturing into the world’s largest paper bag producer.
His donation will help better understand neurological diseases, the Cleveland Clinic said.
“Charlie’s generous donation to the Neurological Institute will help us transform our approach to better understand neurological diseases,” said Andre Machado, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Neurological Institute and the Charles and Christine Carroll Family Endowed Chair in Functional Neurosurgery. “His support of this state-of-the future facility will enable us to centralize and advance the care we provide in an environment specifically designed around the unique needs of people with neurological conditions.”
The study that Shor is helping fund will look to find if stress relief can potentially reduce seizures and improve and prevent memory decline in epilepsy patients.
Shor said he wants to help make a difference in the lives of people living with neurological diseases.
“Cleveland Clinic’s vision for the future of neurological care is inspiring and gives me hope,” Shor said in a press release. “Neurological conditions, and specifically epilepsy, affect so many people in the prime of their lives. By directing these resources to the extraordinary team of doctors and researchers at Cleveland Clinic, I believe I can help to make a significant difference for people living with these diseases.”
The Cleveland Clinic said that more than three million people in the United States are living with epilepsy and that current treatments are only effective in controlling seizures in 46% of adults.
Cleveland Clinic's new building will be named The Charles Shor Epilepsy Center in recognition of the large donation.
