Patient receives free joint replacement at St. Francis Health-Mooresville

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – In the second Operation Walk in the United States, a patient received free total joint replacement surgery at the Franciscan St. Francis Health’s Center for Hip and Knee Surgery.

Her surgery was successful and she is recovering at Franciscan St. Francis Health–Mooresville, where the hip and knee center is located.

The patient, Sheila Smith of Montpelier, Ind., received a total hip replacement on Dec. 2. She met the Operation Walk and hospital criteria for financial assistance and joint replacement surgery.

Sheila Smith is visited by Dr. Michael Keating after the procedure.

Center for Hip & Knee surgeon E. Michael Keating, M.D., donated the surgery, and the Mooresville hospital and staff contributed the rest of the hospital services. Device manufacturer Biomet of Warsaw, Ind., donated the hip implant. Nike will provide a new pair of shoes for each patient treated in the Operation Walk program.

Prior to surgery, Ms. Smith said she is very thankful for this opportunity. She reported not being able to work due to immobility and had no other access to this life-saving surgery. She plans to resume employment after her recuperation.

The Center for Hip and Knee Surgery has been ranked No. 1 in Indiana for joint surgery five years in a row (2007-2011) by HealthGrades, one of the nation’s premier health care rating companies.

Other Operation Walk-affiliated sites in the United States also are participating in the program.

Operation Walk is a private, not-for-profit, volunteer medical services organization which provides free surgical treatment for patients in developing countries and occasionally in the United States.

Established in 2000 by Merrill Ritter, M.D., who also founded the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery, Operation Walk Mooresville also educates in-country orthopedic surgeons, nurses, physical therapists and other health care professionals on the most advanced treatments and surgical techniques for diseases of the hip and knee joints.

Through generous donations of time, money and supplies, Operation Walk Mooresville has been able to touch the lives of countless citizens in several countries, including Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Most recently, a medical team of 72 health care professionals provided 111 orthopedic surgeries to 84 patients in Guatemala. They performed 99 total joint replacements and 12 complex foot and ankle surgeries.

Each trip costs approximately $165,000 for transportation, cargo, shipping, medical supplies, medications, room and board.

“Each year these costs increase,” said Amy Robertson, R.N., team coordinator for Operation Walk in Mooresville. “Without the help from the Kendrick Foundation, Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville and many other sponsors, these trips would not be possible.”

For more information, visit www.operationwalkmooresville.org.