The Miriam Hospital Gala & Auction – Moonlight Masquerade
Fund-a-Need Beneficiary
This year’s fund-a-need at The Miriam Hospital Gala & Auction will help bring life-changing technology and expansion to The Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital. The Spine Center has seen remarkable growth since it opened five years ago and needs additional resources, including a second 3-dimensional navigation system to improve the accuracy of increasingly complex surgical care. The additional equipment will help meet the demand for volume while increasing patient and staff safety (Shown: Patient of The Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital).
Back pain and spinal injuries and disorders keep thousands of Rhode Island and Massachusetts residents from working and living comfortably, and in many cases are so disabling that one’s quality of life is greatly diminished. The Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital is a leading-edge collaboration between the best of two clinical areas― the orthopedic spine surgeons from the Brown University Health Orthopedics Institute and the neurosurgeons from the Norman Prince Spine Institute. Together they have turned a small program into a highly specialized spine center. While other programs offer general spine care, the Spine Center specializes in the most complex conditions. Accredited as a Center of Excellence by the Joint Commission for excellent outcomes, case volume, and patient satisfaction, the Spine Center is poised to become a national care destination for solutions to complex spine problems.
“The growing demand for our services at the Spine Center is a direct reflection of The Miriam Hospital and the best-of-the-best team of specialists and support staff we have brought together to provide a standardized evidence-based patient centered surgical experience for all,” says Alan Daniels, MD, co-director of the Spine Center. “In 2024 we performed 958 cases– that is a 95% growth since we began in 2019. Adding additional equipment will allow that number to continue to grow, which only means we increase the number of lives transformed.”
The Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital stands among the best in the field. It has earned top recognition, with three of its surgeons named among the 'Top 20 Under 40' by the North American Spine Society and a ranking in the top 1% of Spine Research Hospitals in 2024 by Avante-Garde. Additionally, more and more patients are turning to the center for revision surgeries after unsuccessful procedures elsewhere.
At the Spine Center, surgical navigation is used to precisely guide the location of surgical instruments and place hardware during the most complex surgeries. In addition to the accuracy that this state-of-the-art guidance system provides, it also improves safety by reducing the radiation exposure for both patients and staff compared to traditional intraoperative x-ray systems.
From pre-op consultation and preparation before surgery, to post-op physical and occupational therapy and case management, patients receive the most comprehensive and patient centered care experience around. The hospital culture is felt by patients and staff alike. “Patients often tell us that every person they meet at The Miriam was wonderful, they can tell people actually enjoy their jobs, and the culture of the hospital is spectacular, along with the safety track record,” says Christy Ciesla, Program Manager, Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital.
Your support of the Spine Center at The Miriam Hospital not only helps build a stronger community and hospital―it transforms lives!