Saint Luke’s Foundation and Health System Announces Generous Gift from Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation
KANSAS CITY, MO — May 10, 2018 - Today the Saint Luke’s Foundation announced a $13 million gift commitment from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation to support the Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute (SLMBNI). The gift demonstrates the Bloch Family Foundation’s continued commitment to Saint Luke’s world-class neuroscience program and brings the Bloch Family Foundation’s ten-year contribution to $25 million.
“I am extremely pleased with the growing success of the Institute and its quality of patient care,” said Henry Bloch, Chairman Emeritus of the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation. “It has always been important to me to give back to the city which has given so much to me and my family. By extending our financial support for this nationally recognized institute, our family foundation continues to repay that debt.”
During the past five years, Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 50 neurology and neurosurgery programs by U.S. News & World Report, and Saint Luke’s Hospital has earned both Comprehensive Stroke Center and Certified Spine Surgery designations from Joint Commission. Today SLMBNI is one of the highest volume stroke programs in the nation, treating more strokes than any other program in the region.
“We are honored by this generous gift and grateful for the numerous ways in which it will continue to benefit Kansas Citians,” said Melinda L. Estes, MD, president and CEO of Saint Luke’s Health System. “The Bloch family has touched and improved countless lives through their continued support of the Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute. Saint Luke’s is grateful for our partnership as we deliver leading-edge neurologic care close to home for patients in our region.”
This five-year gift commitment from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation will enable SLMBNI to continue to expand its clinical care, education, and outcomes research programs, with special focus on neuro-oncology, cerebrovascular, neurodegenerative disorders, and developing the Saint Luke’s Spine Center of Excellence. In 2019 Saint Luke’s plans to open the Saint Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, a world-class rehabilitation hospital, which will treat patients with advanced neurologic injury using state-of-the-art technology. This ongoing partnership will allow Saint Luke’s to continue to provide close-to-home access to world-class care in Kansas City.
Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute
Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute (SLMBNI) is a comprehensive center for neuroscience research, education, and evidence-based medicine that combines faculty in neurology, neurosurgery, interventional neuroradiology, neurotology, psychiatry, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. SLMBNI has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 50 neurology and neurosurgery programs by U.S. News & World Report. Together SLMBNI faculty provide patient-centered, leading-edge care to thousands of patients from all over the country. As a member of Saint Luke’s Health System, SLMBNI is a global leader in utilizing both drug and mechanical interventions to reverse the permanent and debilitating effects of ischemic stroke. Its legacy of innovation began in 1993 when doctors performed one of the world’s first intra-arterial stroke reversal procedures. Since then, Saint Luke’s specialists have continued to pioneer new stroke treatments and reverse strokes in thousands of patients through its network of stroke centers. Located in Kansas City, Mo., SLMBNI brings together a team of highly specialized neuroscientists to provide comprehensive treatment for the most complex neurological diseases, including stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, multiple sclerosis, headaches and facial pain, as well as aneurysms and intracerebral hemorrhages. The Institute’s multispecialty team provides the latest in minimally invasive spinal surgical techniques for the treatment of acute and chronic back pain. SLMBNI strives to be a national leader in neurological treatment and care by advancing clinical research and evidence-based clinical practice.
Saint Luke’s Health System
Saint Luke’s Health System consists of 14 area hospital locations, and several primary and specialty care practices, and provides a range of inpatient, outpatient, and home care services. Founded as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, our mission includes a commitment to the highest levels of excellence in health care and the advancement of medical research and education. The health system is an aligned organization in which the physicians and hospitals assume responsibility for enhancing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of people in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the surrounding region.