$ 3 million pledge from Richard Horvitz and Erica Hartman-Horvitz will benefit University hospitals Ahuja Medical Center helping to bring neonatal intensive care to campus.

The generosity of the family will be recognized with the appointment of the Richard Horvitz and Erica Hartman-Horvitz Neonatal intensive care unit, officials noted this week.

“Our family has been deeply involved and committed to UH for decades,” said Richard, who was both director of the UH board for 17 years and is currently a member of the UH board.

“It is both our pleasure and a privilege to express our dedication to the health system and its mission through a donation to the expansion of phase 2 of UH Ahuja,” he said. -he adds. “We can’t think of a better way to give back to this incredible community than by supporting its most vulnerable. “

According to a press release, the new Horvitz Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will be equipped to care for premature and critically ill newborns, helping to ensure that every baby born at UH Ahuja has a good chance of making a safe start again. health.

The ‘state of the art unit’, part of the new Steve and Loree Potash Women & Newborn Center, will be staffed by neonatal specialists from UH Rainbow and will include 12 patient rooms, each with space for the family.

The couple’s commitment builds on the multigenerational support of the Horvitz family at UH. Richard’s late father Leonard Horvitz and his wife Joan made a major donation of $ 7 million in 1995 to build the Horvitz Tower in Rainbow.

Additionally, the family donated $ 5 million to UH’s “Discover the Difference” campaign to name the Marcy R. Horvitz Pediatric Emergency Center, first on the main campus and later with an additional gift to Ahuja, both in memory of Richard’s late wife.

Recently, Richard’s daughter Danielle Weiner, who is Rainbow Foundation President-elect, along with her husband, Michael, pledged $ 2 million to help build the Danielle and Michael Weiner maternity suite at UH Ahuja.

“In many ways, big and small, Richard and Erica have been staunch and loyal friends of UH,” said UH CEO Dr Cliff A. Megerian.

“Through philanthropy and volunteering, the entire Horvitz family has given selflessly for generations and left a lasting mark on our healthcare system,” he added. “The impact they have had in this community and continue to have on the lives of our patients is phenomenal.

As part of UH Ahuja’s Phase 2 expansion, the new Potash Women & Newborn Center brings the trust and collaborative care of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and UH MacDonald Women’s hospitals in East Cleveland, responding the growing need for maternity care and advanced labor and delivery services, the release said. It is estimated that the center will deliver around 2,400 babies per year.

“It suits the Horvitz family, who have a long-standing relationship with Rainbow Babies & Children’s, to continue to be generous in supporting the expansion of our renowned neonatal services to our eastern patients,” said Patti DePompei, president of Rainbow and MacDonald Women’s Hospitals.

“Most pregnant families don’t anticipate their babies needing a neonatal intensive care unit, but in the event of a premature birth or a medical condition requiring intervention, it is important to be near doctors and children. specially trained nurses to provide the best possible care for a newborn baby and its family. . “