Foundation Raises $4M for John Muir Robots

July 21, 2009
San Francisco Business Times
By Chris Rauber

The John Muir Health Foundation, the charitable foundation that raises funds for Walnut Creek-based John Muir Health, said Tuesday it raised $4 million to buy two daVinci robotic surgery systems for the hospital's Walnut Creek and Concord campuses.

Surgeons use the robots for a variety of minimally invasive procedures involving urological, gynecological, cancer and colorectal care.

Muir officials said in a statement Tuesday that a number of small gifts, averaging about $100, helped boost the total. "Smaller gifts add up, and thanks to the generous giving of our local community, the Foundation was able to provide the funds" for the two high-definition robots, despite the economic downturn, said Milt Smith, the foundation's president.

Victoria Steiner, a foundation spokeswoman, said all $4 million came through relatively small "unrestricted" gifts to the foundation, which raised about $2 million annually for two years to fund the project.

Each of the daVinci units boast four robotic arms; one has a tiny camera, the other three are used to manipulate surgical instruments. The technology provides more flexibility, "allowing more wrist-like actions with the laproscopic instruments than you would otherwise have," said surgeon Babak Edraki.

Other facilites that use the robots in the Bay Area include California Pacific Medical Center, Sequoia Hospital and Marin General Hospital, among others.

(Posted July 21, 2009)