In 2017, the Jane and Daniel Och Family Foundation donated $25 million toward spine care at NewYork-Presbyterian, helping to build Och Spine Hospital into a world-renowned spine program. Now, Jane and Daniel Och have made a second donation of $50 million for the expansion of regional Och Spine facilities, including clinical sites in underserved communities.
Och Family Foundation Gifts $50M to NewYork-Presbyterian
“Jane and Dan’s gift reflects their vision of improving the health and well-being of our communities by providing outstanding spine care to as many patients as possible,” said NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Board of Trustees Chair, Jerry I. Speyer. “We look forward to expanding access to our Och Spine services across the Greater New York area.”
A portion of the gift will fund the creation of an outpatient center in the Hudson Yards neighborhood, with a projected 2023 opening. The generous donation will also be allocated for a new inpatient spine care unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center, based in New York City, as well as the expansion of Bronxville-based NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital’s spine services. These projects will increase access to world-class spine care across the New York Metro area.
NewYork-Presbyterian is a leader in spine care and spine research, serving patients from all over the globe. Och Spine’s new home in The Spiral, a 65-story office tower in the Hudson Yards district, will allow space for collaboration among leading specialists and researchers from Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine. This clinical site will also house new, innovative technology and provide easy access to comprehensive spine care including evaluation, treatment, imaging, on-site radiology, and a physical therapy gym.
Lawrence Lenke, M.D., co-director and surgeon-in-chief at the Och Spine Hospital and chief of spinal deformity surgery in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center told OTW, “This gift represents a confidence in the work of our clinicians, researchers, and staff, to continue bringing life-changing spine care and treatment to patients in the NYC metro area.”
“Thanks to Jane and Dan’s generous support, we look forward to the opening of a new inpatient unit at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2023 and expanding Och Spine services to NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Westchester later this year. This donation will also help support a one-of-a-kind outpatient center dedicated to spine care at The Spiral in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards district. Altogether, this generous gift will allow us to deliver world-class care to children and adults from across the country.”

Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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