By Chris Rotolo |
RED BANK – The Riverview Medical Center has received a $5 million donation to support the advancement of its robotic surgery program.
Timothy J. Hogan, the president of Riverview Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health Bayshore Medical Center, said this recent donation from Two River Theater Company founders Joan and Robert Rechnitz is a significant contribution.
“This is a truly special display of their financial generosity,” Hogan said in a phone interview. “Joan and Robert have been wonderful supporters of what we do here and continue to play a major role in the process of taking care of this community.”
Hogan said the Rechnitz donation will go directly toward aiding the advancement of the medical center’s robotic surgery program, a developing medical technology that offers a less invasive surgical option for patients.
“Thanks to this incredibly generous donation, we’re going to be able to increase what it is that we’re capable of doing with this technology,” Hogan added. “Robotic surgery allows our surgeons to have better vision and control over the surgical process which, in turn, produces better clinical outcomes and shorter hospital stays for our patients.”
“The medical industry is embracing robotic surgery and so are our patients,” he continued. “It’s becoming a preferred method, because it’s allowing them to experience better care.”
Robotic surgery was first introduced at Riverview Medical Center in 2013, when the Rechnitz family provided the initial funding for the facility’s original da Vinci Si Robotic Surgical System.
Since implementation, nearly 1,000 patients have been treated using this state-of-the-art surgical equipment, which allows surgeons to make smaller incisions with improved visualization and range of motion.
Enhanced visual surgery that previously required patients to be opened up completely are now conducted with minimally invasive techniques, helping patients recover faster and with reduced pain and scarring.
The Rechnitz’s most recent donation will allow for upgrades to the medical center’s robotic surgery model, which is referred to as the da Vinci XI.
“Both Joan and I are incredibly thankful for the care we receive at Riverview Medical Center and that makes our giving extremely meaningful to us,” Robert Rechnitz said in a statement.
Despite their own multimillion dollar donation, the Rechnitz family is calling upon the community for further fundraising by introducing a “giving challenge” that they hope will inspire an additional $5 million to be raised this year.
“We do hope the larger community responds to our wish to bring more philanthropic support to the hospital, continuing to ensure it’s a place we can all rely on for the highest quality health care,” Robert Rechnitz added.
To learn more about how you can participate in the Rechnitz’s giving challenge, contact Jennifer Smith, senior executive director of Riverview Medical Center Foundation at jenniferl.smith@hackensackmeridian.org.
This article was first published in the April 12-19, 2018 print edition of The Two River Times.
