St. Joe’s Hamilton aims to raise $20M for robotics

HAMILTON, Ont. – St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton announced a $20 million fundraising campaign for its robotic surgery program. St. Joe’s aims to add another surgical robot to its fleet, double its robotic surgery volumes, and continue its investment in robotics research while training the next generation of surgeons.

The hospital’s Foundation is more than halfway towards its $20 million goal, thanks to some major donors.

The largest gift to date is a $2 million investment by long-time grateful patient John Ribson, who owns a local Toppers Pizza location and 50 Wendy’s restaurants across Canada, including the first Canadian Wendy’s location on Upper James St., in Hamilton.

It’s his second major donation to St. Joe’s. In 2018, Ribson’s $1 million donation helped establish the Urologic Cancer Centre for Research and Innovation at the hospital.

“As someone who’s been cared for here at St. Joe’s for the better part of my life, I have witnessed the innovation, the science, the compassion and the dedication of the care teams here,” says Mr. Ribson. “It’s a true pleasure for me to invest in making sure that the progress being made in robotic surgery at St. Joe’s continues, as it’s making a difference in the lives of so many patients.”

“Our robotic surgery journey has demonstrated the remarkable things that are made possible by philanthropy,” said Dr. Mike Heenan, president, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and interim president & CEO, St. Joseph’s Health System.

“It has the unique power to fuel innovative programs and research that, in time, can change clinical practice, improve healthcare policy, and influence funding models, too. And more importantly, it can be the catalyst to adopt new approaches that are changing, improving and saving the lives of the patients St. Joe’s is honoured to serve.”

St. Joe’s has been performing robotic surgeries since 2012 and emerged as a national leader in the field, conducting Canada’s first robotic knee replacement, first lung resection, and first fully robotic esophagectomy.

Five thousand procedures and 12 published research studies later, the Ontario government has taken notice of the impact robotic surgery is having on patient outcomes, healthcare cost savings, time spent in hospital and more.

In June of 2023, thanks to a body of research data that St. Joe’s contributed to, Ontario Health announced funding for three types of robotic surgery for cancers of the prostate, kidney and uterus. Yet seven of the 10 procedures St. Joe’s performs remain unfunded by OHIP. And the hospital is responsible for the full costs of acquiring and maintaining its state-of-the-art surgical robots, too.

“Through robotic surgery, we’re quite literally changing the way patients living with arthritis, and cancers of the head, neck, chest, kidney, bladder and prostate, are cared for,” said Dr. Bobby Shayegan (pictured), chief of surgery at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and one of Canada’s top robotic urologic surgeons who performs the most robotic prostate procedures in the country.

“This campaign will allow us to continue our efforts to develop new procedures, deliver a higher standard of care to our patients, and make conditions that were previously thought to be inoperable possible. That’s the power of robotic surgery and why this campaign is so essential to the future of care.”

“Having worked in surgery at St. Joe’s for more than 20 years, I’ve witnessed the power and the promise of robotic surgery,” said Dr. Anthony Adili, chief innovation officer and an orthopedic surgeon at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and the first in Canada to perform a Robotic Total Joint Replacement.

“It is helping patients to heal faster. To return to the people, the homes, and the hobbies they love the most. We’re the place where patients want to come for care and where surgeons want to come to learn. And this campaign is an investment in St. Joe’s continued leadership in this field.”