The Norton Healthcare Foundation has announced an $8 million gift from retired physician Elizabeth Pahk Cressman to establish Parkinson's disease and critical care centers in Louisville, Kentucky.

The gift includes $5 million to create the Cressman Parkinson's Center at the Norton Neuroscience Institute, which will work to enhance Parkinson's care and research efforts, including recruitment of specialists and the development of new technologies, while the remaining $3 million will go toward the creation of the Cressman Critical Care Center at Norton Suburban Hospital as part of a larger effort to modernize and enlarge the critical care unit at the 373-bed, full-service community hospital.

Cressman, who spent fifteen years as an anesthesiologist at Norton Suburban Hospital, made the gift in memory of her husband, Frederick K. Cressman, who was director of pathology at what is now Norton Audubon Hospital from 1975 until his retirement in 1999 and who died in January after a seven-year battle with Parkinson's. The Cressmans also had an avid interest in the visual arts in Louisville and gave $1 million in 2006 to found the Cressman Center for Visual Arts and $10 million in 2009 to support the renovation and expansion of the Speed Art Museum.

"I saw first-hand how much my husband suffered because of this progressive and debilitating disease," said Cressman. "My hope is that this gift will give new hope to Parkinson's patients at Norton Neuroscience Institute through the development of new treatments, supported by strong research efforts. My husband had a keen interest in neuropathology, so I'm sure he would be proud that this gift will help Parkinson's patients far into the future."