Boomer Esiason Foundation & Cincinnati Bell Donate $1 Million
Donation Funds Research Chair
CINCINNATI -- The Boomer Esiason Foundation and Cincinnati Bell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW), announced today they have donated $1 million to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The donation will help fund an endowed Chair to lead scientific research in pulmonary disease.
Cincinnati Children's is currently recruiting for a top scientist in pulmonary research to serve as The Gunnar Esisaon/Cincinnati Bell Research Chair in the Life Sciences. The new scientist will contribute to ongoing research at Cincinnati Children's into pulmonary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis.
Over the past three years, Cincinnati Bell has contributed more than a million dollars to The Boomer Esiason Foundation for cystic fibrosis research. These funds have come from donations based on activations of Cincinnati Bell products and services. For example, Cincinnati Bell Wireless donates $2 for every wireless phone activation and $1 for every i-wireless pre-paid phone activation. Due to Cincinnati Bell's work, the Foundation named Jack Cassidy, Cincinnati Bell's president and chief operating officer, its 2002 Most Valuable Player, an honor bestowed on its most significant supporters.
"This donation is proof of the great difference one company can make in the lives of so many," said Boomer Esiason. "By teaming with Cincinnati Bell, the Boomer Esiason Foundation has made a giant leap in developing cystic fibrosis research into a cure."
"It's the Cincinnati Bell customers who have made this donation possible through their purchases and continued support," said Jack Cassidy, president and COO of Cincinnati Bell. "Cincinnati Bell is proud to work together with the Boomer Esiason Foundation to make a difference in the fight against cystic fibrosis and proud that significant work is being done right here in our community."
The Esiason Chair will be used to attract the best physician scientist to Cincinnati Children's -- a scientist who can lead the next wave of discovery and innovation in pediatric pulmonary medicine.
"Cincinnati Children's division of Pulmonary Medicine has made important contributions to the care of children with cystic fibrosis and other chronic lung diseases," says Tom Boat, MD, chairman of the department of Pediatrics and director of the Children's Hospital Research Foundation. "The Division is positioned to extend these contributions by generating new information and concepts that will be converted into better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood lung disorders."
The Children's Hospital Research Foundation is a national leader in basic science research focusing on lung disease and fetal lung development. The division of Pulmonary Biology, directed by Jeffrey Whitsett, MD, has had a longstanding interest in the developing postnatal lung. This work has led to increasing interest in mechanisms involved in formation of the lung and in lung specific gene transcription -- the process by which genetic information is transferred from the DNA molecule to mRNA (messenger RNA) -- both in the developing lung and in lung tumor biology.
The division of Pulmonary Medicine focuses its research on basic and clinical studies of diseases that affect the pediatric airway and lung, including cystic fibrosis, an inherited lung disease. In both the Pulmonary Biology and Pulmonary Medicine divisions, research has led to improvements in clinical outcomes and in quality of life for children and their families in the Cincinnati area and throughout the world.
The Esiason family has had a long and personal connection to Children's Hospital. In May 1993, Boomer and Cheryl Esiason's son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
In 1995, Cincinnati Children's named its pulmonary medicine clinic in honor of Gunnar. The dedication of the Gunnar H. Esiason Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Center was in recognition of the significant contributions made by Gunnar's family in search of a cure for cystic fibrosis.
About the Boomer Esiason Foundation
The Boomer Esiason Foundation is a partnership of leaders in the medical and business communities joining with a committed core of volunteers to provide financial support to research aimed at finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Foundation works to heighten education and awareness of cystic fibrosis and to provide a better quality of life for those affected by cystic fibrosis.
About Cincinnati Bell and Broadwing
Cincinnati Bell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW), is one of the nation's most respected and best performing local exchange and wireless providers with a legacy of unparalleled customer service excellence and financial strength. Cincinnati Bell provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services to residential and business customers in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. In two separate 2001 studies by J.D. Power and Associates, Cincinnati Bell was ranked Number One in Local Residential Telephone Customer Satisfaction and Number One in Residential Long Distance Customer Satisfaction among Mainstream Users. Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW) is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit www.broadwing.com.
About Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Children's is a 426-bed pediatric medical center, recognized throughout the world for its clinical care, research and education. Scientists at Cincinnati Children's have developed such life-saving research discoveries as the Sabin oral polio vaccine and a surfactant preparation that has saved the lives of many thousands of premature newborns. In its most recent fiscal year, Cincinnati Children's provided innovative medical and surgical care to patients from 32 nations. The medical center could not have become the national and international leader it is today without the support of the community.
Contact Information
Jim Feuer,
jfeuer@chmcc.org, 513-636-4656
