the daily: The Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation and the Mandel Supporting Foundations announced an $8 million grant to the health education campus of Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic. The award will support construction of a nearly 12,000-square-foot educational conference center within the health education campus, as well as development of an academic pathway for medical students who want to focus on wellness and preventive care education.
“This partnership between Case Western Reserve and Cleveland Clinic appears to me to hold great potential to positively impact health education,” said Morton Mandel, chairman and CEO of the Mandel Foundation.
Decades of studies have demonstrated that the vast majority of chronic conditions can be ameliorated or even eliminated through changes in lifestyle. The leading root causes of death in this country are tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption. Research abroad has confirmed the compelling impact of behavior on outcomes. A study of more than 23,000 people in Germany, for example, found that four choices reduced the risk of chronic disease by 80 percent: never smoking; maintaining a Body Mass Index lower than 30; exercising at least 3.5 hours a week; and healthy eating (lots of fruits and vegetables, whole-grain bread, and low meat consumption).