The EDWARD J. AND LOUISE E. MELLEN CENTER FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TREATMENT AND RESEARCH was established at the CLEVELAND CLINIC in Feb. 1985 with the help of a $2 million gift from the Mellen Foundation. The foundation was established in 1963 by investment banker Edward Mellen and his wife, Louise, who was diagnosed with MS shortly after their marriage in 1942.
The mission of the center is to provide compassionate, comprehensive, innovative, and technologically advanced care to patients and families affected by MS; to conduct clinical and basic research directly related to the effects, cause, management, and cure of MS; and to educate clinicians, academicians, investigators, and allied health care providers about MS and to promote the education of patients, their families and the public about this disease. The intent was to create a center focusing solely on MS which would address the research, psychological, medical, social, educational and physical aspects of the disease. The center has become a national source of information for doctors and health-care providers who strive to make the disease less debilitating. The center's team approach in dealing with MS involves a qualified staff of 15 doctors, neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, nurses, and social workers who meet regularly to assess each patient's condition. Treatment focuses on helping the patient and family members manage the symptoms and finding ways to compensate on every front for what the disease does.
The Mellen Foundation provides continuous support for the center, together with individual and organizational donations, service fees, and research grants. In 1995 Dr. Richard Rudick served as medical director of the center.