About Us

In the 1950s, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine introduced a revolutionary organ-based curriculum that used multidisciplinary organ-specific committees to integrate traditional courses such as physiology and anatomy with pathology and pathophysiology. That new curriculum for medical education was a forerunner to the multidisciplinary approach to be used in the MCRTP. The highly innovative approach at the CWRU School of Medicine focused international attention on Cleveland, and influenced medical education throughout the United States.

During 2003, the new CWRU President – Edward Hundert, M.D., former dean of the University of Rochester School of Medicine – was inaugurated. A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Hundert was a visionary who built partnerships and fostered multidisciplinary research and education. Simultaneously, the Dean of the CWRU School of Medicine – Ralph Horwitz, M.D. –had been recently recruited from Yale University, where he stimulated tremendous growth in research with Yale’s Department of Medicine., Dean Horwitz (a member of the Institute of Medicine) announced a new conceptual framework for the CWRU School of Medicine that fully integrated the core concepts of health and disease prevention into a medical curriculum that traditionally focused on the principles of illness and disease treatment.

In 2002, the Cleveland Clinic and CWRU formed an historic partnership to collaborate in medical education by creating the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) of CWRU. By creating a novel medical school program that not only requires a substantive research project and master’s level thesis, but also incorporates a comprehensive curriculum in research, CCLCM intends to provide students with an environment that will fuel enthusiasm for scientific inquiry and practical research skills, and will prepare these scholars for successful careers as physician investigators. CCLCM’s active learning approaches are mirrored in the MCRTP curriculum and practicum experiences.

Other partners include The MetroHealth System, a fully integrated provider of high quality, highly compassionate health care services for all people at every stage of life. The heart of The MetroHealth System is MetroHealth Medical Center, a 731-bed teaching hospital and major regional referral site. Beyond the medical center, MetroHealth operates 13 inpatient and outpatient facilities throughout Greater Cleveland, including a comprehensive outpatient surgery center, two long-term care/skilled nursing centers, and 10 community health sites. Services include Level I trauma, burn, and critical care; women’s and children’s services, including high-risk obstetrical care and neonatal intensive care; heart and vascular care; cancer care; medical and surgical subspecialties; rehabilitation; long-term and skilled nursing care; and community health. Affiliated since 1914 with nationally ranked CWRU School of Medicine, MetroHealth is an active center for medical education, clinical research, and scientific inquiry, and all full-time MetroHealth physicians hold CWRU faculty appointments.

Another partner in the MCRTP is the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, which provides care to over 71,000 veterans each year in northern Ohio, through two inpatient facilities, twelve community based outpatient clinics and three vet centers. The medical center has been recognized for more programs of clinical excellence than any other VAMC: Open Heart Surgery, Care of the Seriously Mentally Ill, Geriatric Evaluation and Management, Substance Abuse Care, Spinal Cord Injury Care, Medical Care of the Homeless, and Domiciliary Care of the Homeless. The medical center is the site of a research center of excellence in Functional Electrical Stimulation. The medical center hosts the offices of the VA Regional Counsel, the National Office of Information Service Center, the Office of Resolution Management, and the Chief, Podiatry Services for the VA.

VA Research programs are funded at more than $20 million annually. The medical center is affiliated with the Case Western Reserve Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing. More than 1,000 students, trainees, residents, and fellows are trained at the medical center each year, encompassing 26 disciplines and involving 50 affiliations with schools, colleges, and universities.

Another Partner, University Hospitals of Cleveland, is the region’s premier healthcare delivery system, serving patients at more than 150 locations throughout northern Ohio. Committed to advanced care and advanced caring, University Hospitals offers the region’s largest network of primary care physicians, outpatient centers and hospitals. University Hospitals also includes a network of specialty care physicians, skilled nursing, elder health, behavioral health, rehabilitation and home care services, managed care and insurance programs and occupational health and wellness. Nearly 25,000 physicians and employees comprise University Hospitals and its partner hospitals, ranking it northern Ohio’s second largest employer. University Hospitals’ goal is to provide comprehensive primary and community-based care—the kind of healthcare people need most—as well as access to the highest quality specialty care when necessary.