UC Health opened a $6 million expansion of the Timothy Freeman Center for Developmental Disabilities in Cincinnati on Sept. 9, 2025. The facility provides comprehensive care for adults with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities. National Down Syndrome Society contributed over $125,000.
UC Health has completed a $6 million expansion of the Timothy Freeman Center for Developmental Disabilities, creating a comprehensive care facility for adults with Down syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities in Greater Cincinnati. The expanded center officially opened on September 9, 2025, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at its Victory Parkway location.
The new facility is ten times larger than its predecessor and provides coordinated services including primary care, psychiatry, rehabilitation, nutrition counseling and social work under one roof. The expansion was funded through a combination of state and federal resources along with more than $2.3 million in philanthropic donations collected over five years.
The National Down Syndrome Society played a critical role in the project’s development, initially providing $100,000 three years ago to fund the center’s first program manager. The organization later contributed an additional $25,000 to sponsor a named exam room and advocated for the multimillion dollar federal funding that enabled the expansion to move forward.
Cory Shaw, president and CEO of UC Health, noted that hundreds of adults in the region previously lacked access to complete, coordinated care. The center addresses this gap by offering accessible design features, therapy rooms equipped with light and sound technology, and staff trained to communicate directly with patients rather than around them.
The facility honors Timothy Freeman, a UC Health physician and UC professor who advocated for patients with developmental disabilities until his death in 2022. Lauren Wang, UC associate professor of family and community medicine, now serves as the Freeman Center’s director and has announced plans to add a dental program.
Wang described the center as a new national model for developmental disability care, with goals extending beyond Cincinnati to educate providers and expand research nationwide.
UC Health officials at the opening emphasized the collaborative effort required to bring the project to completion.