Not just a place to stay
This research program requires travel to and from the laboratories in Cleveland. That is simply part of the commitment by research participants. When I travel to Cleveland you would think that I stay at the hospital but I don’t. Maybe I stay at a hotel but I don’t. Instead I board in a house but this is not just a place to stay. It is the Z-House. The story of this house is a unique one.
The Zubizarreta House (affectionately known as “Z-House”) started with a vision by a research scientist and biomedical engineer. He wanted a comfortable and accessible place for research participants who are living with spinal cord injuries. This vision came to the forefront when MetroHealth Medical Center, one of the research facilities in Cleveland, moved the rehabilitation operations and research to the west side of town and away from the main hospital. The difficulties of transportation, accessible living space and areas for caregivers was magnified.
But this BME had a vision and an opportunity surfaced. In 2015, the MetroHealth Foundation opened an ideas competition called the Think Tank. It was structured like the popular TV series Shark Tank, but it was for ideas to improve care. The vision turned into the idea articulated on paper and morphing into professional proposals. The idea passed the first round of competition. It was reformed and then it passed the second round. The submitted idea was a fully wheelchair accessible home within wheeling distance of the MetroHealth Old Brooklyn campus and set specifically for the research participants or others being evaluated to become a participant.
For each round of judging review, less and less ideas moved on to the next round. The ‘MetroHouse’ was one of three ideas to receive the award of $100,000. That was a great accomplishment, especially for an engineer (just kidding) but it was not enough to break ground and make the project come to life.
During the competition, the submission team was scouting the neighborhood and found an ideal piece of property that is adjacent to the Old Brooklyn campus. It just so happened to be for sale. Unbeknown to the BME, one of the panel judges, Miguel Zubizarreta, took a particular interest in this project. At the time, it was a property with a building that once housed a funeral home. It was perfect and he purchased it.
Once the ‘MetroHouse’ idea was selected as a Think Tank winner, Miguel and his wife, Denise, pledged an additional $500,000 to the project as well as the property and the newly constructed house. “I don’t find it very inspiring to donate to just an empty fund without any direct connection to what’s being done. This provided a unique opportunity,” says Mr. Z. From that point forward, the generous couple become fully involved with the project down to the color coordination, lighting and furnishings.
The 7,000-square foot one-story home is a wheelchair user’s dream come true. There are 5 guest rooms, each with an accessible bath with roll-in showers. Each room is accompanied by a care-giver room in the event that a guest needs to travel with one. The great room is beyond great with three accessible cooking islands, three refrigerators and a gas fireplace to make the house feel like a home. You name it, it is there from laundry facilities to ceiling hoyer lifts to adjustable beds. They thought of everything and included some of the SCI research participants for input. Plus, there are 2 small apartments for the house innkeepers. It is now affectionately called the Z House.
The Z House officially opened in the fall of 2017. Since then, there has been activity by visiting research participants. When there are multiple guests, it gives an opportunity of SCI camaraderie.
In years past, I did stay in a hotel while attending laboratory session related to this research project. Thanks to the vision of a BME, the generosity of Miguel & Denise Zubizarreta and many dedicated staff members, this house is not just a place to stay.
Here is a link to learn more about the evolution of the Z-House. https://www.metrohealth.org/upload/docs/main/Foundation/Giving/MetroHealth-Giving-Spring2017.pdf
Note: The statements and views posted here are of my own and do not reflect those of Case Western Reserve University, the Department of Veteran Affairs, Metro Health Medical Center or the National Institutes of Health along with their representives involved with this program. If you are interested in this clinical trial, please visit https://clinicaltrials.gov and search NCT00623389 or NCT01923662.
