Frederick C. Binter Center for Neurosciences Established At Fletcher Allen with $2 Million Donation

BURLINGTON, VT -- The Frederick C. Binter Center for Neurosciences is a new, multi-disciplinary center of excellence at Fletcher Allen Health Care, made possible by a $2 million donation from neurosurgeon Nancy Binter, M.D., and her husband Bela Ratkovits, M.D. The neurosciences center is named in honor of Dr. Binter's father, Frederick C. Binter, who passed away in 1996 at age 79.  Frederick Binter was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his early 60s.

Creating multi-disciplinary centers of excellence is a key initiative under Fletcher Allen's strategic plan. This type of center brings together health care professionals with specialty training from different disciplines to share medical expertise, centered around the needs of the patient. The ultimate goal is to provide all of the care a patient needs as conveniently and seamlessly as possible, ideally within a single visit.

"While it is my job as my father's daughter to honor his memory every day I work, it is our collective job, as an institution, to help people like my father spend one more day outside of a nursing home," said Dr. Binter, a member of the recently created Fletcher Allen Health Care Foundation. "If we can achieve that, then the donation, $2 million, was well spent."

"I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Binter for this generous gift," said Melinda L. Estes, M.D., president and chief executive officer at Fletcher Allen. "This gift will allow us to further the advancement of neurological care at this institution, in our state, and in our region; it will also help us achieve our vision of becoming a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region."

"Dr. Binter's dedication to high-quality patient care and teaching over many years has had a profound impact on our community," Estes continued. "She has a long history of supporting Fletcher Allen, both through philanthropy and by giving of herself in many other ways, whether as a leader of our Medical Staff, serving on our Foundation Board, or in other capacities. She always steps up to offer support, keeping in mind the best interests of patients and families."

"Nancy Binter has set the bar high with this generous gift to Fletcher Allen," said Edwin Colodny, chair of the board of the Fletcher Allen Health Care Foundation. "We appreciate her altruism, and we hope that her gift inspires others in this community to step forward to lend their support to Fletcher Allen."

About the Binter Center for Neurosciences

The goal of this center is to ensure that Parkinson's patients, and other patients with a broad range of neurological disorders, including stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, are able to obtain the treatment they need so they can stay active as long as possible.

The center brings together health care professionals with specialty training from different disciplines, including neurology, neurosurgery, neuro-radiology, neuro-psychology and anesthesiology.  The center emphasizes research-based treatment with a focus on delivering new technologies and procedures to the bedside.

The center will feature a series of multi-disciplinary, disease-related neurosciences clinics. The first of these clinics to open will be a coordinated Stroke clinic, scheduled to begin seeing patients in late March in the West Pavilion of Fletcher Allen's ambulatory care center.  Other multi-disciplinary clinics to open later in 2008 include Movement Disorders and Epilepsy.  Additional clinics will open in 2009.

About Frederick C. Binter

Frederick C. Binter was a chemist who founded the Independence Chemical Co. in 1950. He was a self-made man who put himself through college at the University of Pennsylvania by working in an ice cream shop, proctoring at the University of Pennsylvania, and doing other jobs.

He started his company with $5,000, and succeeded against Procter & Gamble, Dow Chemical, and the biggest companies in the business by focusing on custom-designed products and customer service. An avid skier who loved Vermont, the effects of Parkinson's disease resulted in Frederick Binter spending the last 15 years of his life in a nursing home.

Frederick Binter was someone who believed in the pragmatic application of science, in giving people what they needed when they needed it.  In honoring his memory, the Frederick C. Binter Center for Neurosciences is based on the principles he practiced.

About Fletcher Allen Health Care

Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont's academic medical center.  Our mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment.

Fletcher Allen also serves as a regional referral center - providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York - and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties.

With more than 30 patient care sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region.