Neal Communities has committed $150,000 to help fund the Brain Health Initiative at Lakewood Ranch (BHILWR). BHILWR is a three-phase project formed by Lakewood Ranch, The Academy for Brain Health and Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. This collaborative effort is designed to uncover the various positive and negative factors that affect brain health performance, as well as discern, develop and implement interventions aimed at optimizing brain health throughout the lifespan. The BHILWR also aims to establish Lakewood Ranch and the Gulf Coast community as a scientific leader in brain health discovery and innovation.

The Brain Health Initiative team will build from insights gained during the initial Phase 1 surveys that were conducted last year. During Phase 2 of the study—taking place September 2019 through April 2020—researchers will conduct focus groups across the region and use the findings to create strategies for the pilot study, as well as receive input from additional scientific leaders and develop the brain health baseline survey to be implemented in Phase 3. 

Brain Health Initiative at Lakewood Ranch