Broads Donate $1 Million To Providence Saint John’s Health Center Establishing “The Broad Center for Robotic Joint Replacement”

January 25, 2019

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has donated $1 million to establish the Broad Center for Robotic Joint Replacement at Providence Saint John’s Health Center.

The Saint John’s Health Center Foundation announced the gift today, noting the Broads’ support recognizes the high quality of care patients receive from orthopedic surgeon Andrew Yun, M.D., and his colleagues, said foundation president and CEO Bob Klein.

“We’re so thankful to Mr. and Mrs. Broad for their gift that will expand the orthopedic robotics program,” Klein said. “This gift not only helps us expand services, it signals to the larger community that this program is worthy of major support. This type of philanthropy is absolutely critical to bringing state-of-the-art medical care to more people.”

Mrs. Broad underwent joint replacement surgery by Dr. Yun, a leading national expert in orthopedic surgery and director of The Center for Knee and Hip Replacement at Saint John’s. Dr. Yun used the Mako robotic-arm assisted technology, which combines computer-assisted surgery with robotic technology.

“He had a great reputation and the entire experience was very positive,” Mrs. Broad said. “Our foundation supports medical and scientific research, and we wanted to do something meaningful for Saint John’s.”

The Mako robotic arm-assisted technology helps surgeons personalize surgery based on a specific patient’s diagnosis and anatomy. The technology uses a patient’s CT scan to create a 3-D model of the damaged knee joint. Dr. Yun uses this model to pre-plan the surgery. Once in the operating room, he or she guides the robotic arm within the pre-defined area. The Mako system ensures the work is within these boundaries and provides a more accurate placement of the implants. This results in less soft tissue involvement, shorter recovery times and better patient outcomes.

Dr. Yun will use the third robotic arm to train other surgeons.

“Thanks to my long-time colleague, Dr. Kevin Ehrhart for seeing the promise and for soliciting the support of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, we were early adopters of this new technology and we felt a responsibility to leverage any tool to give our patients better outcomes,” he said. “Now with three Mako robots, we’re not only the busiest and fastest-growing robotic orthopedics program in the country, but more importantly, we’re also recognized as the top-performing center in the country. The Broads’ generous support has allowed us to transition into a robotic super-center. We are deeply grateful to them for their support of our program.”

Previous Article
Accupressure Helps with Depression, Sleep After Breast Cancer Treatment
Accupressure Helps with Depression, Sleep After Breast Cancer Treatment

A recent study found that acupressure could help alleviate multiple symptoms women often experience after b...

Next Article
Providence Ventures Closes on Second $150M Health Care Fund
Providence Ventures Closes on Second $150M Health Care Fund

The new round of funding will fuel health care and technology partnerships that transform how care is deliv...