Gilberts Unveils $400 Million Plan With Henry Ford Hospital To Fight Strokes, Should Son Be Injured
Detroit Billionaires Dan and Jennifer Gilbert on Wednesday unveiled a $439 million effort with the Henry Ford Stroke Health System in Detroit while creating a research facility that will work to find a cure and treat the genetic condition their late son suffered from.
The Gilbert Family Foundation, along with partners Henry Ford Health and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, is donating $375 million in part to create a 72-bed physical medicine and rehabilitation facility in Detroit. The Foundation, a private fund established by Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, also announced the creation of the Nick Gilbert Institute for Neurofibromatosis Research in Detroit, which will work in partnership with the Henry Ford Health Sciences Foundation at Michigan State University.
The announcement came four months after the Gilberts’ eldest son, Nick Gilbert, died in May of neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes noncancerous growths to grow along nerves in the skin, brain and other parts of the body. He was 26 years old.
“Detroit will become a leader” in stroke and other neurorehabilitation issues because of these initiatives, Jennifer Gilbert said.
“Today, we double down on our commitment and honor Nick’s passion for a neurofibromatosis-free future,” Jennifer said during a news conference Wednesday morning with her husband at Book Tower Detroit.
The new 72-bed rehabilitation facility will be managed by Shirley RyanabilityLab, a Chicago-based company that specializes in such care and will occupy three floors of Henry Ford Hospital’s new patient tower, totaling 125,000 square feet. Henry Ford health officials said earlier this year that construction on the new hospital is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2029.
The rehabilitation facility will provide inpatient care for those recovering from strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other conditions. Michigan had 5,781 stroke deaths in 2021 and ranked 12th nationally with Tennessee with a stroke death rate of 46.2 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The cost of establishing and operating both initiatives will be an estimated $439 million over 10 years. The Gilbert Family Foundation will contribute approximately $375 million in grant funding, while the remaining over $60 million will be funded by Henry Ford specifically for the Shirley Ryanability Lab.
The $50 million Nick Gilbert Institute for Neurofibromatosis Research, funded entirely by the Foundation, and expected to open in 2027, will collaborate with research institutions and researchers around the world to create new disease models using organoid technology and other methodologies.
These organoids, or “mini-organs in a dish,” allow researchers to quickly test potential drug therapies for the effects of treatment on healthy and unhealthy tissues.
The Foundation is committing $190 million over 10 years for operations and research. It is also setting aside an additional $5 million in case of cost overruns and other unforeseen circumstances.
Annette Bakker, president of the New York-based Children’s Oncology Foundation dedicated to ending neurofibromatosis through research, estimates that there are a few thousand researchers and clinicians working on the condition worldwide. The Foundation has collaborated with the Gilbert Family Foundation in the past, and Dan Gilbert is a member of its board of directors.
Preclinical research models, such as organoids, are critical to developing new treatments for rare diseases, Bakker said. She added that investing in research into preclinical models would make neurofibromatosis, also known as NF, an “attractive” target for drug companies.
“Taking existing models for getting drugs from companies into clinical trials quickly … is very important in rare diseases,” Bakker said.
The Gilbert Family Foundation has previously donated more than $100 million in grants for neurofibromatosis type 1.
Targeting the disease faces challenges
Jennifer said that NF affects one in every 2,000 births worldwide, and 4 million people live with some form of the disease, adding that the severity of the disease varies from person to person.
Dr. Adnan Mankara, of the Henry Ford Center, said that the case is not rare, but rather rare. He said the manifestations included skin discoloration, soft non-cancerous tumors under the skin, learning difficulties, and poor eyesight.
Laura Granman, executive director of the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund, said the Nick Gilbert Institute will be the first of its kind dedicated entirely to neurofibromatosis.
“It’s hard to find a cure, and because the population that needs treatment is relatively limited, unfortunately, the revenue opportunities to produce that treatment are sometimes also limited,” she said.
MSU’s interim president, Teresa Woodruff, said the institute represented an opportunity to “unite the strength of academic and clinical research and world-class healthcare.”
Regarding the stroke facility he and his wife are planning to set up, Dan Gilbert said the Shirley Ryanability Lab is where he sought treatment after suffering a stroke in 2019.
“I am forever grateful to the doctors, nurses, staff and therapists,” said Dan, who rose from his wheelchair to speak. “…there are many, many other patients who have not been able to get all the rehabilitative care they need because of the limited number of hours that are often not covered by insurance.”
Unlock more care for strokes
Each year, tens of thousands of people in Detroit and surrounding communities survive everyday conditions such as stroke, brain or spinal cord injury, and cancer complications, said Shirley Ryan, CEO of Shirley RyanabilityLab, which has more than 40 sites of care in the Midwest.
In 2020, there were 30,521 hospitalizations for stroke in Michigan, according to the State Hospital Association, with a black population adjusted for stroke likely, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
“These numbers are expected to grow as the population ages,” Ryan said. “Our sole focus is on helping patients regain their ability through intensive rehabilitation that takes advantage of the best tools and technology that enhance their ability to work, move, communicate, and participate in a meaningful way.”
In order for new and existing residents to be able to fully access services required for stroke and spinal injury, the Gilbert family is also creating a $10 million fund to increase access to rehabilitation care for Detroit residents, not related to NF.
“It was because of Dan’s experience meeting people who didn’t have full coverage and, unfortunately, had to limit their rehabilitation,” Graniman said, adding that it was unclear how many patients the fund could help. “We know that one in four adults over the age of 25 will have a stroke and that increases when you have a community with underlying conditions.”
And in Detroit, deaths from strokes have declined faster than the population, according to state statistics. Stroke deaths fell from 1,072 in 1980 to 380 in 2021, a drop of 64.5% at a time when the city’s population fell 47% from 1.2 million to an estimated 632,464 residents.
Previous support for the fight against neurofibromatosis
The Gilberts have been a staunch advocate in the fight to end the genetic condition since Nick was born with NF1. Diagnosed when he was 15 months old, Nick has suffered multiple brain surgeries, vision loss and rounds of chemotherapy.
In 2018, he underwent an eight-hour operation and spent more than a month recovering. After the surgery, Dan Gilbert tweeted that his son was recovering, and that his son’s first question after the surgery was: “Did the Cavs beat OKC?” The disease can be inherited, but none of Gilbert’s four other children has been diagnosed.
Wednesday’s announcement also follows a $500 million commitment to improve Detroit’s neighborhoods in 2021.
Henry Ford Health System is expected to build a $2.5 billion, one million square foot campus expansion in the new center area within the next decade.
“It is an honor to be here in our great city to advance health care for those we are privileged to serve,” said Bob Rainey, CEO of Henry Ford Health System. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring on board a world leader, Shirley RyanabilityLab, who is 33 years old and has been ranked the best rehab center in the world.”
Rennie announced that the new patient tower at Henry Ford Hospital would be taller than the Fisher Building, which is 441 feet tall.
“It really gives people a perspective on the exciting addition to the Detroit skyline, but now we’re adding three floors, so it’s officially going to be taller than Fisher,” Rainey said. “We know what we start together would not be possible without the incredible generosity of donors like the Gilbert family.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer applauded the announcement, saying the new Shirley Ryanability Lab will improve the health of state residents and support hundreds of new jobs.
“I am grateful to the Gilbert Family Foundation, Henry Ford Health, and the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab for their collaboration to make this happen. This new rehabilitation facility will help people recover from debilitating injuries and illnesses, and the new research institute named in honor of the late Nick Gilbert will help in Finding a cure for neurofibromatosis.
City Council Speaker Mary Sheffield said a Wayne State University study indicated that Detroiters die prematurely between the ages of 50-59, a fatality rate 122% higher than the rest of Michigan.
“The death rate in the city indicates an urgent need to invest in healthcare,” Sheffield said, adding that her mother died of a rare, incurable brain cancer. “I know firsthand the importance and value of research in its ability to bring hope to the hopeless and make the impossible possible.”
srahal@detroitnews.com
The tenth: @SarahRahal_
Contributed writer Hannah MacKay.
