Parkinson’s wellness center coming to Beachwood; city gets large FEMA grant

November 19, 2019  By Jeff Piorkowski/special to cleveland.com

Beachwood will welcome a Parkinson's disease wellness center in January.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Sometime after the New Year, the city will welcome a Parkinson’s disease wellness center, which will move from its current Warrensville Heights location.

City Council approved Monday (Nov. 18) by a 7-0 vote a conditional use permit that will allow InMotion to move to 23905 Mercantile Road, which is located within a zoning district that permits industrial and office uses.

City Planner George Smerigan said InMotion will move into an existing 21,000-square-foot building.“They have five full-time staff members and three part-time staff members and 57 contract instructors," Smerigan said. "They help with different types of therapy. Nobody stays overnight; they just come in for the services. They say that they serve about 2,000 people annually.”

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement.

InMotion, now located at 4829 Galaxy Parkway, describes itself on its website as “a nonprofit community of specialized trainers, dedicated staffers, volunteers, clients with PD and the people who care about them.”

The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission last month gave initial approval to InMotion’s conditional use permit request.

Sizable grant for the fire department

Council also approved Monday the acceptance of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant in the amount of $214,335 that will go toward purchasing 30 self-contained breathing apparatus packs.The SCBAs are one of the most important pieces of equipment we have,” said Fire Chief Steven Holtzman. “We use them for anything where there are low oxygen levels. It’s (low-oxygen situations) called IDLH, which is ‘immediately dangerous to life and health’ -- any atmosphere we may come into contact that meets that (IDLH) standard, our guys are required to wear them.”

In addition to fires, the SCBAs can be useful in such matters as dangerous chemical releases where rescues are needed.

“I don’t remember us ever getting (a FEMA) grant,” Holtzman said of the Beachwood Fire Department. The grants are usually given based on a department’s need. Holtzman said that SCBAs have a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years, and the BFD’s current equipment is now 18 years old. As the SCBAs grow older, they require more frequent repair, Holtzman said.

The FEMA grants require that cities match 10 percent of the grant’s total. In this case, however, Cuyahoga County stepped in and will pay the match, meaning Beachwood will purchase the SCBAs at no cost to the city. Coming out on top

Council also voted 7-0 in passing an ordinance that will have the city, for a second straight year, enter into a contract with Entercom Communications for search engine marketing/optimization.

When key words are used in searches, the firm works to make the Beachwood city website the first seen among listings. It also provides for a person to conduct up to 150 live chats per year with people who need help while visiting the Beachwood city website.

Beachwood will pay Entercom $18,000 in 2020 for its services

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2019/11/parkinsons-wellness-center-coming-to-beachwood-city-gets-large-fema-grant.html