Anchor institutions – Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals – collaborate to lead the initiative; Choose Exela Technologies

Cleveland – September 20, 2018 -- The Cleveland Supply Chain Initiative (The Initiative), led and convened by The Cleveland Foundation and BioEnterprise, and representatives from University Circle anchor institutions: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals, today announced the creation of a multi-institutional commercial mail processing/services facility in University Circle called the Mail Service Hub, provided by Exela Technologies.

“The Cleveland Mail Service Hub will be a new stand-alone, scalable business in the City of Cleveland with the vision to attract additional institutions to use its services, thus increasing the quantity and quality of the jobs in the core city,” said India Pierce Lee, Senior Vice President, Program, Cleveland Foundation.

“The goal of the Cleveland Supply Chain Initiative is to leverage synergies among the area’s largest employers and achieve greater economic impact in the immediate communities with a clear pathway for residents to participate,” said Aram Nerpouni, President and CEO of BioEnterprise. “The Cleveland Mail Service Hub is a testament to the collaborative spirit in Cleveland and among its anchor institutions that this kind of project can get accomplished.”

As part of the Initiative, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University investigated the potential for their vendor(s) to create economic opportunities within the region. This included combining their purchasing power and reviewing their respective supplier contracts. Cleveland State University provided data analysis and research support for this effort.

“Anchor institutions have the potential to truly shape the local economy by combining their purchasing power to create jobs, localize production, and start up new enterprises,” said Candi Clouse, PhD, program manager for the Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs.

Opportunities reviewed included the creation of a new mail site (e.g. service center) or simply adding new jobs to existing operations. After an extensive selection process, the Initiative chose Exela Technologies to develop the mail facility on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. Exela was chosen due to its outstanding track record and its work with veteran, diversity, minority and disability organizations.

“On behalf of Exela I want to express our commitment to the City of Cleveland, and we are thrilled to have been chosen as the provider tasked with creating the Cleveland Mail Services Hub,” said Ron Cogburn, CEO, Exela Technologies. “Our team welcomes the opportunity to provide Cleveland residents jobs that offer career advancement, and to provide superior, innovative services and cost savings through a shared services model to Cleveland’s University Circle anchor institutions.”

The Cleveland Mail Services Hub will offer employees a meaningful and measurable opportunity to increase their skill sets by intense cross training (serving multiple vs. single institutions), access to state-of-the-art technology, greater earning potential and career growth within a well-recognized national organization.

The facility will offer inter-office courier services; outbound/inbound mail gathering, sorting and distribution to appropriate carriers; outbound/inbound package induction; outbound metering and postage induction; postage management and reporting; research on undeliverable mail/packages; and basic mail screening.

“We appreciate this opportunity to collaborate with our hospital partners and the Cleveland Supply Chain initiative to provide local employees more promising opportunities and experiences,” said Dick Jamieson, Vice President, Campus Services, Case Western Reserve University.

“Cleveland Clinic is dedicated to helping our communities thrive through several initiatives like this,” said Bill Peacock, Chief of Operations, Cleveland Clinic. “We believe this great collaboration will generate business growth and career opportunities in the short term and lays the groundwork for potential opportunities to make a positive impact on the surrounding communities in the future.”

“At University Hospitals, advancing the science of health and the art of compassion is a standard that guides our strategic direction and moral compass,” explained Steve Standley, Chief Administrative Officer, University Hospitals. “Reinvesting in our community through job creation, as well as collaboration with our peers to launch initiatives that reduce healthcare costs, are just a few examples of steps we have taken to demonstrate our commitment to compassionately care for the residents of Northeast Ohio. And we believe gainful employment can positively influence a person’s overall health.”

About BioEnterprise:

BioEnterprise is a business formation, recruitment, and acceleration effort designed to grow the Northeast Ohio healthcare industry. Located in Cleveland, at the Global Center for Health Innovation and in University Circle, BioEnterprise provides management counsel and support services to health IT, medical device, and biopharmaceutical companies. In addition, BioEnterprise convenes and leads strategy for industry-building initiatives such as The Medical Capital, HIT in the CLE, and the Global Center for Health Innovation. BioEnterprise founders are Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals. Additional technology partners include the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland State University and BioOhio. Since 2002, BioEnterprise and its partners have created, recruited and accelerated more than 350 health IT, medical device, and biopharmaceutical companies, and have helped these companies raise more than $2 billion in new funding. To learn more: BioEnterprise.com.

About the Cleveland Foundation:

Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is the world’s first community foundation and one of the largest today, with assets of $2.13 billion and 2016 grants of $93.6 million. Through the generosity of donors, the foundation improves the lives of residents of Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties by building community endowment, addressing needs through grantmaking and providing leadership on vital issues. The foundation tackles the community’s priority areas – education and youth development, neighborhoods, health and human services, arts and culture, economic development and purposeful aging – and responds to the community’s needs. For more information: www.ClevelandFoundation.org.

About Cleveland State University Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

Levin College is ranked among the top schools of Public Affairs and ranked highly in the specializations of City Management and Urban Policy and Nonprofit Management by U.S. News and World Report. Our graduates work regionally and across the country in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors: Government, Community Development, Human Services, Housing, Healthcare, Environmental Advocacy and Public Safety. Through academics, research, and community involvement, Levin College is advancing effective city management and sound urban policy. www.csuohio.edu.

About Case Western Reserve University:

Case Western Reserve University is one of the country's leading private research institutions. Located in Cleveland, we offer a unique combination of forward-thinking educational opportunities in an inspiring cultural setting. Our leading-edge faculty engage in teaching and research in a collaborative, hands-on environment. Our nationally recognized programs include arts and sciences, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing and social work. About 5,100 undergraduate and 6,200 graduate students comprise our student body. Visit case.edu to see how Case Western Reserve thinks beyond the possible.

About Cleveland Clinic:

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 51,000 employees are more than 3,500 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 14,000 nurses, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic’s health system includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 10 regional hospitals, more than 150 northern Ohio outpatient locations – including 18 full-service family health centers and three health and wellness centers – and locations in Weston, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2016, there were 7.1 million outpatient visits, 161,674 hospital admissions and 207,610 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185. For more information: www.clevelandclinic.org.

About University Hospitals:

Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 50 outpatient health centers and 200 physician offices in 15 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located on a 35-acre campus in Cleveland’s University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and University Hospitals 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, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. 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 Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 26,000 employees. UH’s vision is “Advancing the science of health and the art of compassion,” and its mission: “To Heal. To Teach. To Discover.” Follow UH on Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, go to UHhospitals.org.

About Exela Technologies

Exela Technologies, Inc. (“Exela”) is a global business process automation ("BPA") leader combining industry-specific and industry-agnostic enterprise software and solutions with decades of experience. Our BPA suite of solutions are deployed in banking, healthcare, insurance and other industries to support mission critical environments. Exela is a leader in work flow automation, attended and un-attended cognitive automation, digital mail rooms, print communications, and payment processing with deployments across the globe.

Exela partners with customers to improve user experience and quality through operational efficiency. Exela serves over 3,700 customers through a secure, cloud-enabled global delivery model. We are 22,000 employees strong at nearly 1,100 onsite client facilities and 150 delivery centers located throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Our client list includes 60% of the Fortune® 100, along with many of the world’s largest retail chains, banks, law firms, healthcare insurance payers and providers and telecom companies. Find out more at www.exelatech.com.