MOORESVILLE,
Ind. —Three patients will receive free total joint replacement surgery
beginning Dec. 3 during an Operation Walk USA-sponsored program at the Center
for Hip and Knee Surgery, located on the campus of Franciscan St. Francis
Health-Mooresville.
These
patients — from Mooresville, Martinsville and Solsberry, Ind. — meet Franciscan
St. Francis Health’s criteria for financial assistance and joint replacement
surgery.
Center
surgeons are donating the surgery, and the Mooresville hospital and staff are
contributing the rest of the services, and implant manufacturer Biomet of
Warsaw, Ind., is donating the implants.
Michael
Berend, M.D., will be doing two knee replacements for the Mooresville patient.
The first surgery will occur on Dec. 6. Philip Faris, M.D., will perform a single
hip replacement on Dec. 3 for the Martinsville patient. Robert Malinzak, M.D.,
will perform a single hip replacement for the Solsberry patient on Dec. 5.
The Center has
consistently been ranked among the top joint replacement facilities in the
country using Medicare data and quality measures such as complication and
infection rates. For five years straight, Mooresville hospital has been honored
with Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award and ranked among the top
5 percent in the Nation for Outstanding Patient Experience.
Operation Walk USA,
an independent medical charitable organization, provides all aspects of knee
and hip replacement treatment — surgery, hospitalization and pre- and
post-operative care — at no cost to patients who may not qualify for government
assistance, have insurance or afford surgery on their own.
While more than 1
million hip and knee replacements are performed in the U.S. each year,
countless men and women continue to live with severe arthritic pain and
immobility because they cannot afford joint replacement surgery.
Operation Walk USA is
an offshoot of Operation Walk, which provides free surgical treatment for
patients in developing countries.
Established in 2000
by Merrill Ritter, MD, 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
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, Operation
Walk Mooresville traveled to Managua, Nicaragua, from Feb. 24 to March 2.
The group performed 99 surgeries for 69
patients, including 81 joint replacements and 18 foot and ankle surgeries.
A team of 74 volunteers, 12 from Franciscan St. Francis
Health–Mooresville, included surgeons, nurses, physical therapists and many
others. The team brought the necessary equipment and donated supplies along
with the expertise of the Operation Walk Mooresville group.
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 Franciscan St. Francis
Health–Mooresville and the Kendrick Foundation, these trips would not be
possible.”
For more information
about Operation Walk or to contribute the effort, visit operationwalkmooresville.org.
