LeBron James says he will open a multimillion-dollar medical facility in his Ohio hometown
NBA superstar LeBron James says he is opening up a medical facility in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. The LeBron James Family Foundation announced plans on Tuesday for the I Promise HealthQuarters – a multimillion-dollar facility that will offer a variety of services to students from his I Promise School and local community.
"It takes a village to help raise a kid and make a true difference! Love my kids and their families!" the Los Angeles Lakers forward tweeted, as he shared news about the announcement.
The community health and wellness center will provide medical, dental, optometry and mental heath supports as well as on-site pharmacy and lab services, the foundation said. It is set to open in 2023 and it will be within walking distance from the I Promise School and across from House Three Thirty, a hub that helps with job training and financial literacy.
The medical facility is partnering with local health providers AxessPointe, Coleman Health Services and Peg's Foundation. Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, told CBS News in a statement that their "work continues to expand in ways we never dreamed of."
"Access to affordable health care has always been a critical need for our families – and further heightened by the pandemic – so we began rallying our community to bring the experts together under one trusted roof," she said. "Being able to provide this important resource for the entire community is only possible because we have incredible partners that share our We Are Family philosophy."
The foundation and Akron Public Schools opened the doors of the I Promise School in 2018 with a mission to help the most at-risk students and families in Akron – a cause that's personal for James. Last month, he surprised students on their last day of school – and the children went wild.
With the new health facility, the newly minted billionaire is following a similar path of another basketball legend. Last year, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan donated $10 million to open to new medical clinics in North Carolina, with the aim of improving affordable access to care in Jordan's hometown of Wilmington. The new facilities would follow the work of Jordan's other two clinics in Charlotte.
