April 29, 2025

A Golden Honour – 50th nomination for a St. Joe’s Miracle Worker

In 2018, Dr. Anthony Adili, a leading orthopaedic surgeon and Chief Innovation Officer at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton performed Canada’s first robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery. Seven years later, Dr. Adili has been studying how robotic-assisted joint replacements can help patients to heal faster and regain their mobility and independence quicker, too.  

“By leveraging robotic technology and customizing each surgery to our patients, we’re keeping more of their healthy knee joint and tissue intact and only replacing the parts that really need it,” says Dr. Adili. “This ultimately means a smoother recovery because we’re retaining essential parts of the anatomy that make it easier for the patient to return to their natural range of motion.” 

Maybe that’s part of the reason why Eva Marsh says she’s still dancing after her knee replacement in 2012. Her husband, Don, is also a grateful patient of Dr. Adili’s who had his hip replaced the year before Eva’s knee surgery. Recently, the Copetown, ON couple made a donation to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation and nominated Dr. Adili as their St. Joe’s Miracle Worker. 

“I’m happy to be mobile and pain-free after my surgery, able to dance around my kitchen as I prepare our supper,” says Eva. “I received the same wonderful care and smooth process as my husband did for his hip surgery, and I’ve never been in a happier hospital ward! We knew we were in good hands with Dr. Adili.” 

The Miracle Worker program offers patients the chance to make a donation and send a personal note to the doctor, nurse, volunteer, or allied healthcare professional who made a difference during their care experience at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. When a care provider is nominated, they receive a wing-shaped lapel pin to wear proudly to let others know they’ve been recognized for providing exceptional care along with those handwritten notes from their former patients.  

Unbeknownst to Eva, Don and Dr. Adili, their donation marked a golden milestone: Dr. Adili’s 50^th Miracle Worker nomination! It’s a threshold that only 5 other clinicians at St. Joe’s have ever reached.  To mark the occasion, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation presented Dr. Adili with a special gold-rimmed pin marking his 50th nomination status. 

“This is an amazing honour. It’s an honour to work alongside an incredible team at St. Joe’s. And it’s even more rewarding to know that the care we provide, the surgeries we perform, are making a difference in the lives of people like Eva and Don and so many others. To know they’re still dancing, because of the care we’ve provided them – that’s why we come to work every day,” says Dr. Adili. 

Every gift to our Miracle Worker program helps give back to our Hospital to ensure our care teams can continue making everyday miracles happen. Your generous support will help to fund life-saving equipment purchases, innovative research projects, and renovations to patient care areas at St. Joe’s.

To learn more about how you can thank a care provider or to see a complete listing of Miracle Workers acknowledged in 2024 visit our St. Joe’s Miracle Worker Program page.