Shirley Ryan AbilityLab gets $15 million donation

Chicago area couple Kathy and John Schreiber are donating $15 million to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to help fund care and research related to brain conditions.

The area of the rehabilitation hospital where overnight patients receive care for brain conditions — such as stroke and traumatic brain injuries — will be renamed the John and Kathy Schreiber Brain Innovation Center. The money will also support the hospital’s programs designed to help patients thrive in their communities.

“As longtime residents of the Chicagoland area, John and I have developed a deeply personal connection with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s important mission and have seen firsthand the powerful ways in which the hospital’s integrated team of clinicians and researchers advance patients’ abilities,” Kathy Schreiber said in a news release.

The Schreibers also donated money to help open the AbilityLab. The $550 million AbilityLab opened in Streeterville in 2017, replacing the old nonprofit Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago building on East Superior Street. The hospital was renamed as part of the change.

The hospital focuses on patients with complex conditions who still need care and rehab services after they leave traditional hospitals. The AbilityLab aims to combine research and patient care.

John Schreiber grew up in Chicago and attended Loyola University, before heading to Harvard University’s business school. He then spent 20 years in real estate investment management and founded the New York-based Blackstone Group’s real estate investment management business.

The Schreibers’ donation is part of the AbilityLab’s three-year $100 million Accelerate Ability campaign, which focuses on raising money to shorten the time frame for scientific discovery; attract and retain scientists and providers; improve research and recovery using data; and support specialty programs for patients.