Honda Announces $1 Million Donation to Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Brynn Fraser, 8, left, and Sofi Payer, 12, share the stage with ASIMO during a demonstration at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Today Honda announced the donation of a $1 million gift to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, pledged with the purpose of establishing the Honda Center for Gait Analysis and Mobility Enhancement, which is meant to improve pediatric mobility.
The announcement took place at Nationwide Children’s Hospital during a recognition event featuring representatives of both Nationwide Children’s and Honda—including a special guest appearance by the ASIMO humanoid robot.
The Japanese automaker says that the center will be the first of its kind to provide comprehensive gait analysis, spine motion analysis, sports performance programs, and injury prevention. The hospital also hopes to become a leader in prosthetic and wheelchair development, completing Honda’s mission of improving the mobility of all children. The center will find innovative ways to manage patients with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal cord injury and neuromuscular disease, congenital anomalies and amputations, and any other condition that may impair mobility.
“I want to thank Honda for this generous gift that will help Nationwide Children’s Hospital launch the Honda Center for Gait Analysis and Mobility Enhancement,” said Jim Digan, President of Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Honda’s support makes possible unique services and opportunities that will set the standard for medicine across the country.”
“At Honda, we consider ourselves a mobility company—and we want our products and our philanthropy to focus on the joy and freedom people have when they have mobility,” said Tom Shoupe, executive vice president and COO of Honda of America Manufacturing, which bases its operations in central Ohio. “Whether motorcycles, automobiles, marine engines, aircraft, or assistive robotics, we have a long tradition of providing mobility products and so it was a natural fit to work with Nationwide Children’s on a center that would work to expand physical mobility for patients.”
The Honda Center for Gait Analysis and Mobility Enhancement will use state-of-the art instrumentation, including advanced video recording techniques and 3D motion analysis cameras, force platforms, and electromyography to evaluate the movement and abilities of physically challenged patients.
The center will also support research into pediatric sports medicine, injury prevention, and surgical rehabilitation.
“This center will provide the opportunity to deliver life-changing clinical care to those patients limited in the their ability to walk or run, as well as maximizing the performance and mobility for athletes of all ages,” said Kevin E. Klingele, MD, chief of Orthopaedic Surgery and surgical director of Sports Medicine at Nationwide Children’s. “The researchers and clinicians who will be involved with the center will continue to strengthen an already collaborative spirit at Nationwide Children’s, bringing together numerous clinical departments to provide the best outcomes for our patients and families, and for this we sincerely thank Honda.”
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