Couple donates $5 million to Riverview Medical Center, announces challenge

Joan and Robert Rechnitz, founders of the Two River Theater Company, funded the robotic surgery program at Riverview Medical Center in 2013. This week, they gave the it another boost.

The couple donated $5 million to advance robotic surgery at the Red Bank hospital and issued a challenge for an additional $5 million to be raised in 2018.

“Both Joan and I are incredibly thankful for the care we receive at Riverview Medical Center and that makes our giving extremely meaningful to us,” Robert Rechnitz said in a statement. “We do hope the larger community responds to our wish to bring more philanthropic support to the hospital, continuing to ensure it’s a place we can all rely on for the highest quality health care.”

Since 2013, nearly 1,000 patients have been treated with the da Vince Si Robotic Surgical System, which allows surgeons to make tiny incisions like traditional laparoscopic surgery, but with improved visualization and range of motion. This latest donation will fund Riverview's purchase of the latest robotic surgery model, the da Vinci Xi.

“The Rechnitzes are among the most profound supporters of Riverview Medical Center in the hospital’s history,” said Timothy J. Hogan, president of Riverview Medical Center. "We could not be more grateful.”

For more information on the giving challenge, contact Jennifer Smith at jenniferl.smith@hackensackmeridian.org or 732-751-5115.

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.