Cleveland-based University Hospitals has announced a $9 million gift from philanthropist Roe Green to expand global health initiatives at the Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine.

Established in 2014 with a $5 million gift from the Roe Green Foundation, the newly renamed Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine & Global Health will use the gift to focus on and improve the bilateral exchange of information and expertise. In addition to supporting UH clinicians as they travel the globe to gain, share, and apply knowledge, the center will encourage international global public health leaders and trainees to visit Northeast Ohio for specialized training and to engage in collaborative efforts. With the goal of increasing medical knowledge and reducing health disparities globally, the center will focus on prevention and the sharing of advanced techniques and therapies through hands-on programs, lectures, and symposia.

"Travel has always been in my blood, and I have been very blessed to see so much of the world," said Green, who has visited more than a hundred and sixty countries. "Outreach and education are valuable tools for addressing global health concerns. By supporting this program's expansion, it is my hope that the flow of information between UH's incredible clinicians and our partners abroad will help improve health for all."

"Roe Green has become a great friend and an ardent supporter of UH's global health efforts," said Department of Medicine chair Robert Salata. "She has traveled with our physicians to our programs in Uganda, where we have been working for thirty years to bring down rates of tuberculosis and HIV and are now addressing non-communicable diseases which are increasing at an alarming rate. With this gift, we will mutually benefit from experts here at UH and from around the world to build on our longstanding commitment to improve human health at home and around the world."