June 2008

The NHM Board of Trustees has Selected the “Crossroads of Global Health” as the Museum’s New Home

Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Health Museum (NHM), joined with Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to announce that Atlanta has been selected as the Museum’s home.  NHM will be located in Downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park, where it is estimated that it will attract between 1.1 and 1.4 million annual visitors.

“With our selection of Atlanta, the Board of Trustees has looked to the future and chosen to locate in a city and state that will position NHM at the crossroads of global health in the 21st Century,” said Dr. Sullivan, Chairman of the NHM Board.  “Georgia provides an outstanding venue for this unprecedented global enterprise, which will extend beyond national boundaries to share health-related information and experiences with millions of visitors in the United States and beyond.”   

Governor Perdue affirmed the impact NHM will have and the health-related synergies it will encounter in its new home.  “This wonderful facility will give Georgians and visitors alike the opportunity to understand and experience the revolutions in health sciences that are helping people across the world live healthier lives,” said Governor Perdue. “The National Health Museum, combined with other Georgia-based institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE, the Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society, cements Georgia’s critical position as the crossroads of global health in the 21st century.”

NHM will be a science-based attraction with the mission of inspiring Americans to live healthier lives through access to knowledge and themed exhibits focused on the life sciences.  The physical museum and CyberMuseum will deliver health-related content and experiences, inspire America’s next generation of caregivers and life scientists, and help the nation remain at the forefront of health discovery, technology, practice and care.

The NHM board, which includes corporate, association and public service leaders from the healthcare community, is chaired by Dr. Sullivan, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The founding chairman is the former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., who now serves as Chairman Emeritus. 

The Coca-Cola Company, which has long been a catalyst for the revitalization of downtown Atlanta, played an instrumental role in recruiting the National Health Museum, donating $1 million in seed funding to help support the Museum’s development in Atlanta. The company also supports the Museum’s commitment to building healthy lifestyles, which dovetails with its support of nutrition education and programs that encourage and promote active living.

The design for NHM’s physical facility is being created Moshe Safdie, the renowned architect whose commissions include the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, and the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem.  Experiences and exhibits will be created by BRC Imagination Arts, one of the world’s leading designers of museum exhibits and themed entertainment. 

www.nationalhealthmuseum.org