Four years ago, local resident and Church & Dwight Company’s CEO, Jim Craigie, came to Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS) orthopaedic surgeon Tom Gutowski, MD, lacking something many people take for granted—pain-free movement. In his mid-50s at the time, Jim felt it was too soon to have very serious pain in both his hips. It was becoming painful for him to walk, and even to sleep.Today, after two hip replacement surgeries in 2009 and 2010, performed by Dr. Gutowski, he is enjoying all of his activities, completely devoid of pain. For Jim, the surgery was a gift of a lifetime—a gift he has acknowledged with an extraordinary expression of gratitude.
As a tribute to Dr. Gutowski, Jim made a gift of $3 million during the final phase of the Design for Healing campaign, establishing the Jim Craigie Center for Joint Replacement at University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP). The gift creates a dedicated unit for the hospital’s comprehensive hip and knee replacement program, which offers the latest in minimally invasive techniques, pre-operative patient classes, and inpatient rehabilitation. “As our community’s demand for advanced orthopaedic care continues to grow, Jim’s generous gift enables UMCPP to achieve our vision as the region’s premier provider of joint replacement surgery,” said Barry Rabner, President and CEO of PHCS. “Patients will have the knowledge, care, and support they need to reclaim their lives and live with less pain and greater mobility.”
Jim’s gift also complements the long relationship that Church & Dwight has had with PHCS, providing consistent support over 28 years from the company itself, as well as through its employee giving program. Grants from this program have benefited PHCS’s community health education and outreach activities, among various other endeavors. Its gift of $1 million to UMCPP during the Design for Healing campaign is commemorated by the meditative water wall in the hospital’s main atrium.
Reflecting on his personal gift and sharing recollections of his modest upbringing as one of seven children, attending college on a Naval ROTC scholarship, then going to business school, Jim feels fortunate to now be in a position to give back to a place and the people who have made a major difference in his life. “I saw firsthand (or call it first hip!) the impact that this hospital, Dr. Gutowski, and his team have on people’s lives,” said Jim. “I really can’t imagine a better experience, and now I want to make sure they get the recognition they deserve.”
For more information about the Jim Craigie Center for Joint Replacement, contact Kathy Ryan, Director of Nursing and Peri-op Services at 609.902.8685. To find out about special gift opportunities within the new Center, you may contact Tim Mathiasen at PHCS Foundation at 609.252.8717, or email tmathiasen@princetonhcs.org.
Pictured above: Donor Jim Craigie (center), along with Kathy Ryan, Director of Nursing and Peri-op Services, and Dr. Tom Gutowski, Chief of Orthopedics and Medical Director of the Jim Craigie Center for Joint Replacement.
Article as seen in Foundation News Winter 2013.