Stryker Corporation teams up with UT Medical School
Major gift will help train future physicians

by Amber Buckley

Stryker Corporation, one of the world’s largest medical device companies, has made a major philanthropic gift to The University of Texas Medical School at Houston to help train future physicians in advanced surgical and clinical skills. The gift will support the Medical School’s new Surgical & Clinical Skills Center (SCSC), a unique learning facility that will combine an established clinical training program with the latest computer technology and surgical simulation equipment.

The planned 14,000 square-foot center at the Medical School will support undergraduate, resident, and continuing medical education in surgical and the more delicate microsurgical training, as well as clinical skills training and assessment.

According to Keric DeChant, Stryker’s vice president of health care services, Stryker’s gift is an exception to the company’s typical philanthropy.

“We chose to do it because we envision the Surgical & Clinical Skills Center becoming a center of excellence for the entire region. It’s also the first time all of our divisions have come together to contribute to such a unique opportunity at a major institution,” DeChant says.

He says the company considers its support of the new SCSC a team effort and a chance to take a more active role in the research behind its products and services.

“We will be helping to educate physicians, patients, and even ourselves. As the technology needs of the medical industry change, so do the needs of hospitals and individual patients, and that’s our marketplace, our customers. We need to know what those needs are so we can design and produce products to meet them,” DeChant says.

The SCSC will present trainees with the capabilities to learn and repeatedly practice complicated procedures, including surgical and microsurgical techniques, using simulated patients and manikin technology that mimic the drama of “real-life” medical care — all without discomfort or risking injury to actual patients.

“As medical therapies become increasingly complex and patient safety increasingly scrutinized, the kind of innovative learning the SCSC will provide is an essential part of modern medical education,” says Stanley G. Schultz, M.D., dean of the Medical School.

Students will be able to saw, drill, and place screws on model bones as they train in orthopaedic techniques. They will practice responding to emergencies like heart attacks and acute respiratory distress on state-of-the-art manikins whose conditions and responses to therapies change according to the “care” they receive. They will examine and interact with standardized patients played by actors in model clinical settings. And with each different type of training, videoconferencing will enable instructors to evaluate and critique students in action, as well as to educate physicians and students at other locations.

“This comprehensive center is the first of its kind in the southwestern United States to combine both clinical and surgical skills training across such a multitude of disciplines. It is specifically designed to instill a level of excellence in medical trainees that will translate directly to the patients they will serve in their communities,” Dr. Schultz says.

“Stryker’s generous involvement directly reflects the company’s longstanding commitment to helping patients lead healthier, more active lives with the products and services they create. It is a privilege to have them join our team,” he added.

Founded in 1941 by Homer Stryker, M.D., Stryker Corporation has become a world leader in the orthopaedic market, providing leading-edge instruments and services in joint replacement, trauma, spine and micro implants, orthobiologics, endoscopy, operating room equipment, electronic imaging, and patient-handling equipment.

Dr. Stryker was an orthopaedic surgeon from Kalamazoo, Mich., where the company is headquartered. During his practice in the 1930s, he discovered many medical products were inadequate for his patients’ needs and began inventing new ones. When strong demand for these inventions grew, Dr. Stryker created the Orthopedic Frame Company to develop and sell his products.

In 1964, the company became Stryker Corporation and in 2003 exceeded $3.6 billion in sales with over 15,000 employees and 14 divisions, serving customers both across the United States and around the globe.

The UT Medical School has launched a $15 million campaign to build out, equip, and support the Surgical & Clinical Skills Center. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has committed $4 million for the cost of the build-out. Stryker’s gift is the first major contribution to the Medical School’s campaign.