(Cleveland, Ohio) - University Hospitals Ventures – the innovation and commercialization arm of University Hospitals Health System -- was recognized today with the Health Corporate Innovation Award from Plug and Play at its Summer Summit 2021.

Plug and Play makes this distinct recognition to corporations that have demonstrated a commitment to expanding their innovation culture by developing partnerships with startups, building networks across industry, and thought leadership within the Plug and Play ecosystem. University Hospitals (UH) is a long-standing partner of Plug and Play Health and has been leveraging the Plug and Play network to continue to advance the delivery of health care.

“When the impact of the pandemic become clear, our system initiated a very effective, aligned response that ensured our system could quickly react to a rapidly changing set of variables,” explained David Sylvan, President of UH Ventures. “We learned that leveraging intellectual assets and non-traditional relationships helped us innovate in ways we never imagined to rapidly address a number of unmet needs. We are truly humbled by this recognition from Plug and Play, who have been outstanding collaborators not only through the pandemic, but as we have worked together to help make Cleveland a thriving innovation hub.”

As COVID-19 bore down on the nation’s hospital systems early in the pandemic, UH Ventures emerged as front-line assistance to help the Northeast Ohio regional health system develop response initiatives, including the establishment of strategic local and national partnerships in order to rapidly co-design tools and equipment for front-line use. They engaged with Plug and Play Health not only to access startups, but to share their journey and learnings with other providers.

“During the past challenging year, UH Ventures continued to take full advantage of Plug and Play Health’s ecosystem, with the foresight that now more than ever, the health system must foster innovation, drive investment, and bring technology to market faster,” said Jennifer Thomas, Managing Director of Plug and Play Health. “We’ve been impressed by their determination to lead on innovation and ability to engage across industry to get it done.”

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About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 35+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio

Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 23 hospitals (including 5 joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Oxford University and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with a total research portfolio of $289 million and more than 3,000 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.

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