LifeBridge Health receives $10M for new initiative

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LifeBridge Health announced it was gifted $10 million from The Kahlert Foundation — the largest single gift to the health system in its 27-year history — that will establish the Kahlert Surgical Innovation Institute, an initiative formed to advance surgical technology, training and care across three Baltimore-area medical centers. 

The institute will be designed as a hub for integrating advanced tools and techniques into real-world care, some of which include robotics, artificial intelligence and simulation-based training. The new initiative will focus particularly on education, collaboration and continuous improvement as LifeBridge Health strives to continue a tradition of what it calls “surgical excellence.”

The Kahlert Surgical Innovation Institute will be based at Carroll Hospital in Westminster, Northwest Hospital in Randallstown and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. 

“The Kahlert Surgical Innovation Institute will expand access to advanced surgical technologies across our health system, supporting our teams in delivering high-quality, innovative care,” LifeBridge CEO Neil Meltzer said. 

“We are deeply grateful to The Kahlert Foundation for this transformational gift and their commitment to improving healthcare and strengthening our communities.” 

LifeBridge Health and The Kahlert Foundation have partnered on similar initiatives in the past, company officials said. The foundation donated $5 million to the Carroll Hospital Foundation in 2014 toward the construction of the William E. Kahlert Regional Cancer Center, a LifeBridge Health release says. 

Under the new initiative – according to LifeBridge Health – the Kahlert Institute will support faculty positions at Sinai Hospital for the Regional Medical Campus with George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

“We are excited to support a bold initiative that builds on the strength of LifeBridge Health’s clinical programs and embraces the promise of technology,” The Kahlert Foundation President Greg Kahlert said. 

“But technology alone doesn’t improve care; it takes knowledge, practice and teamwork. That’s why a central focus of the Institute will be education and hands-on training, equipping surgeons, residents, medical students and clinical teams with the skills and experience to deliver exceptional care.”

LifeBridge Health will join The Kahlert Foundation to officially celebrate the launch of the new institute on Monday afternoon at LifeBridge’s corporate offices in Owings Mills.