University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus gets $38M gift for … – Denver Business Journal

Kelly said Marcus chose to donate the money to CU Anschutz due to a relationship Kelly had established with the Marcus Foundation when Kelly was at Walter Reed.

"Their team from the Marcus Foundation came to visit the [Walter Reed clinic] ... and started thinking, 'This model fits for veteran care'," Kelly said in an interview.

Kelly said while the Walter Reed medical center focused on active duty veterans, Marcus's interest had been more in treating veterans.

"They'd already been helping in other clinics, and were willing to make a commitment if things were done right," Kelly said. "They found out I'd returned to CU Anschutz, so they contacted me in followup and said, 'let's get together to see if this works.'"

Kelly said since CU Anschutz already had the technology and operations on-campus, so it was a natural fit.

Meanwhile, CU Anschutz also said today that it will partner with The Cohen Veterans Network to build a team of staff members dedicated solely to treating mental health issues among veterans and their families.

The Cohen Veterans Network will provide CU Anschutz with $9.8 million to build that team, and the veterans and their families will be able to obtain free or low-cost care at a new clinic.

The team and clinic will be operational within the coming months and will focus primarily on post-9/11 veterans, with the Cohen Veterans Network funding it 100 percent for the first three years. In year four, CU Anschutz will fund 25 percent, and by year six, funding will be a 50-50 split going forward.

The Cohen Veterans Network is funded by Connecticut hedge fund manager Stephen A. Cohen and is working to create 25 military family clinics throughout the U.S. over a five-year period.

"Its not easy to leave, go to a foreign place, serve your country and then come back into society seamlessly, Cohen said. Especially if youre suffering. The goal of my network is to get veterans back into society in a functioning way.

Both the institute and clinic will be an expansion of CU Anschutz's medical resources for veterans, which already include a dental clinic, service dog program, housing for families and veterans and families undergoing treatment and mental and behavioral health services.

We have the talent, the resources and the track record that make us the ideal place for the Marcus Institute for Brain Health and a natural partner to establish the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic, said CU Anschutz Chancellor Donald Elliman. Today marks an important milestone in our history of service to veterans and their families.

The long-delayed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical center is being built on a site adjacent to the Anschutz campus.

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University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus gets $38M gift for ... - Denver Business Journal