April 23, 2020

On March 10, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic escalated and non-essential closures took effect, three dedicated St. Joe’s supporters- Peter Cicchi, Aldo DeSantis and Dave Lumsden invited some of their closest friends and colleagues to enjoy a dinner at DiMario’s Trattoria, a small Italian eatery on Burlington’s Lakeshore. Guests were treated to a gourmet menu, complete with wine pairings and awed by a presentation from Dr. Anthony Adili, Chief of Surgery at St. Joe’s and the first surgeon in Canada to perform a robotic-assisted partial knee replacement.

Dr. Adili shared how St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton has quickly emerged as a leader in robotic surgery locally, nationally and globally. But to grow that leadership, he explained that our Hospital needs to acquire the next generation surgical robot, the da Vinci XI. With a greater range of motion and new HD monitors, the new robot will enable our surgeons to perform complex surgeries for cancers of the lung, prostate, bladder, kidneys, head and neck—giving patients better outcomes, a speedier recovery and new hope.

Dinner guests made donations to St. Joe’s that were matched, dollar for dollar, by the Marta & Owen Boris Foundation and altogether more than $420,000 was raised. These funds will help St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation close in on our $6 million fundraising goal for this priority project. To learn more about our fundraising to bring the new robot to St. Joe’s, please visit stjoesfoundation.ca/robotics.