PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Arizona Cardinals Foundation has selected Barrow Neurological Foundation as one of its four cornerstone philanthropic partners, a recognition that underscores Barrow’s role in supporting neurological care in Arizona.
Specialists at Barrow Neurological Institute treat complex brain and spine conditions daily, working to save and change lives.
“Barrow is a comprehensive academic neuroscience institute that provides cutting-edge patient care,” said Dr. Brad Racette, who has spent decades treating and researching neurological disorders and diseases like Parkinson’s, autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
Addressing care gaps
Racette said the quality of health care for people transitioning from childhood into adulthood with intellectual developmental disabilities becomes inadequate.
“There’s not a sports organization that’s focused on that,” said Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, who has a nephew living with an intellectual and developmental disability.
Bidwill said the organization aims to help fund services while creating awareness and education about people with special needs and their talents.
Michelle Gregory, president of Barrow Neurological Foundation, called the partnership funding transformational.
“The institute is focused on three key pillars,” Gregory said. “Number one would be excellence in patient care, number two would be training the next generation of neurosurgeons and neurologists and number three would be transformational research.”
Racette said the Cardinals’ support is critical for the institute.
The partnership aims to develop a comprehensive neurological health program that will improve the lifespan and health span of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Our vision for this program is that we will develop a comprehensive neurological health program that will improve the lifespan and health span of our patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as creating a model that will be able to be replicated nationally and internationally and will improve the care of people worldwide,” Racette said.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.