St. Joseph’s Affiliation

When Laura needed surgery in 2003, there was no lung transplant program in Phoenix. In 2007 when St. Joseph’s Hospital announced its lung transplant program at the new Center for Thoracic Transplantation (now known as the Norton Thoracic Institute), the Board of Laura’s Foundation recognized it as an opportunity to “pay it forward” for all the blessings, care and love Laura had received. The program offered an ideal match for the stated mission of Laura’s Foundation: To provide social support and financial assistance to lung transplant patients and their families. Thus, a new partnership was formed between St. Joseph’s and the Laura Hart Burdick Foundation.

St. Josephs Hospital
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Phoenix

The Norton Institute’s Success

Since its inception in 2007, the Institute has performed over 1100 successful lung transplants, making it one of the busiest and most successful lung transplant centers in the country. “The numbers are humbling”, said Ross Bremner, MD, Director of the Norton Thoracic Institute. “Not only have we been able to reach an incredible number of patients, but the team’s hard work is clearly shown in the exceptional quality scores the team receives.”  Wait-times and one-year survival rates are better than the national averages. Dr. Bremner is hopeful that research being conducted at the Institute will soon find the solution to chronic organ rejection, which will further improve patient longevity.