Biloine W. Young • Wed, October 1st, 2014
Christmas will arrive early for a few joint replacement patients who will get their surgery free of charge at Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream or Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. The two hospitals will provide the operations for a few needy patients who are either uninsured or underinsured. Both hospitals are part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. Giles Scuderi, M.D., vice president of North Shore-LIJ’s orthopedic services, will perform surgeries at Franklin. He has been offering the free service since 2011.
The program, which is organized under the auspices of Operation Walk USA, is an independent medical humanitarian organization that provides free hip or knee replacement surgeries to patients in the U.S. Operation Walk serves patients who do not qualify for government assistance programs and cannot afford surgery on their own.
In just the three years since founding, this program has attracted the volunteer support of more than 140 dedicated orthopedic surgeons who, once a year during the first week of December, donate their time and skills to restoring the mobility, self-dignity and productivity for those among us who can’t afford large joint surgery.
