CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I JUNE 24, 2024
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Ohio is a solar economy leader
UH takes step in bold AI initiative
Cleveland and Akron are among top U.S. cities for green energy investment
Announces plans to deploy tech company Aidoc’s platform aiOS
By Kim Palmer
By Paige Bennett
On average, Cleveland has 166 days of sun each year, well below the national average of 205 days. It may seem counterintuitive, then, that the region is emerging as one of the country’s leading solar energy investment areas. Yet Cleveland and Akron, along with three other Ohio cities, account for one-fifth of Bloomberg’s American Sustainable Cities, a sign that Northeast Ohio is “really leading on national climate action,” said Gina McCarthy, managing co-chair of “America Is All In,” a coalition advocating for the acceleration of the clean energy transition supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. McCarthy, a former White House national climate adviser and EPA administrator, led a June 5 panel at the Cleveland Foundation that included Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and Michael Jeans, president and CEO of Growth Opps and GO Green Energy Fund. “I can tell you that right here in Cleveland is where change is going to happen,” McCarthy added. The Cleveland Foundation is leading the way, emerging as one the largest environmental granters in the state. Last year, the organization distributed $5 million to support climate action and accelerate clean energy in resilient neighborhoods. Under the leadership of new CEO Lillian Kuri, it also vowed to sunset all investments in oil and gas.
University Hospitals is taking a major step in its artificial intelligence strategy. The health system announced plans to deploy clinical tech company Aidoc’s platform aiOS across 13 hospitals and dozens of outpatient locations. The move signals “a significant leap forward in leveraging cuttingedge technology for superior patient outcomes” and will provide UH access to 17 FDA-cleared AI algorithms for triage, quantification, care coordination and immediate access to critical patient information, the health system says. “We have been using and working with different companies in the AI space for many years,” said UH Chair of Radiology Dr. Donna Plecha. In the past, the Cleveland health system has partnered with tech companies and helped develop and pilot different tools, she said. The AI software at the center of this partnership, which UH began rolling out at the start of the year, helps radiologists detect problems that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. When a patient undergoes a CT scan for pain or an injury, the AI platform analyzes the scan with its comprehensive algorithms. If the software finds something suspicious or an issue that requires urgent attention, it brings that patient higher up on a radiologist’s patient list, Plecha said. It helps provide faster diagnosis and treatment of acute conditions, including pulmonary embolism and vertebral compression fracture, according to the health system.
See SOLAR on Page 21
Adult-use marijuana buyers may face
HIGH PRICES By Jeremy Nobile
W
hile Ohio could be just a couple weeks out from the awarding of dual-use licenses and the state’s first non-medical marijuana sales, most op-
erators are mum on what prices could look like for products at the retail level. Crain’s asked several companies to weigh in on what dispensary prices on adult-use products might look like in the beginning and how those might com-
pare with medical prices today. Each declined to share figures but opted to comment in more general terms — though some speculated in more detail than others. See PRICES on Page 20
See AI on Page 21
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