Our History

The Freeman Center began embedded within a family medicine practice in Cincinnati.  Dr. Timothy Freeman was a family medicine physician who started seeing patients with IDD at UC Health in 1987. He was a pioneer in this field, caring for this patient population before it was recognized by the medical community as a population requiring specialized services. He trained numerous medical students and residents in a variety of fields throughout his 30+ year career. He also served as a mentor to many of these clinicians, including family physician and current medical director of the Freeman Center, Dr. Lauren Wang, who joined him in 2014.

 In 2018, the UC Health Transition Care Clinic (TCC) was created to serve transition age youth with IDD aging out of the pediatric system. The original vision was for the TCC to see the patient, address issues specific to transition, and connect the patient to providers in the community. We quickly learned that our patients and their families were desiring patient-centered care from providers experienced in caring for individuals with IDD. Many patients and families wanted to continue to be seen and treated at our office instead of transitioning to other providers. This reality led us to reconsider our model of care.

 In 2021, the TCC evolved into the IDD Program. The IDD Program was a longitudinal care program that provided primary care and collaborative psychiatric care with the goal of becoming an interdisciplinary center providing specialized, coordinated, patient-centered care. The IDD Program was an expansion of the practice Dr. Freeman started thirty years earlier serving adults with Autism, Cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and many other rarer syndromes.

 In 2022, the IDD Program became the Timothy Freeman, MD, Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.  The Center was created and named in honor of Dr. Freeman and his service to individuals with IDD. The Center provides medical care, trains future physicians in a variety of specialties, contributes to research, and collaborates with numerous community organizations. We will continue to evolve as unmet needs are revealed by our patients and the community.

 We welcome the opportunity to partner with you whether you are seeking patient-centered medical care, training in IDD, or an opportunity to contribute to the community in a meaningful way.