The creation of a new rehabilitation facility operated by the world-renowned Chicago-based Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and a research center in Detroit have been made possible by a $375 million grant from the Gilbert Family Foundation.
The two initiatives will cost an estimated $439 million over ten years to bring to life.
The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a 72-bed facility, will become part of the Henry Ford Health's campus expansion. The Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute will be housed in the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University's new research building on the system's east campus, which is set to open in 2027.
The rehab facility will offer inpatient care for those recovering from such conditions as stroke and spinal cord injuries, while the research center will focus on drug treatments for neurofibromatosis — a genetic disease that can lead to tumors forming on nerve pathways anywhere in the body.
The center is named after the late Nick Gilbert who suffered from the disease and who was the son of Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, who run the Gilbert Family Foundation.