Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children (LuskinOIC) Innovation +Access Gala Honors UCLA Health Sarcoma Team and Everychild Foundation

Caroline Rhea to Serve as Auctioneer. Nic Novicki to Emcee
Marisa Corvo, DJ Shigeki Ito, and Girls Make Beats to Perform

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children (LuskinOIC) today announced its Innovation +Access Gala, a celebration of the 115-year-old nonprofit’s mission to provide innovative treatments and world-class orthopaedic care to children regardless of ability to pay.

Taking place on Saturday, June 6, the gala will welcome more than 600 guests at Manhattan Beach Studios in support of LuskinOIC’s belief that Breakthroughs Belong to Every Child.

The evening will feature an unforgettable lineup of entertainment, including actress and comedian Caroline Rhea serving as auctioneer, comedian and Grateful LuskinOIC Parent Nic Novicki serving as emcee, and performances by The Voice’s Marisa Corvo, DJ Shigeki Ito, and Girls Make Beats.

This year, LuskinOIC will honor the UCLA Health Sarcoma Team for its outstanding partnership, which helps ensure children continue to receive the highest level of specialized care.

"It is an extraordinary privilege to work alongside the UCLA Health Sarcoma Team. Each member plays a vital role, combining curative cancer surgery with function-preserving care that truly transforms our patients’ lives—for good,” said UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Nicholas Bernthal. “Our collective research is dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life. This team is unmatched, and through the power of partnership, we are helping children not only survive, but go on to live full, meaningful lives. No gift could be greater; no team more powerful."

The Everychild Foundation, which awarded LuskinOIC a $1 Million grant to help complete the purchase of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine (MRI) for their downtown Los Angeles campus, will also be honored.

"The relationship between our two organizations goes all the way back to 2005 when we funded the construction of the fully-accessible playground. Over the years, after witnessing Luskin's outstanding implementation of that grant, we were thrilled to fund the new imaging center, making Luskin the only institution ever to receive two of the Everychild major annual grants in our 26-year history,” said Everychild Founder, Jacqueline Jacob Caster.

“LuskinOIC is embarking on an $80 million campaign to transform pediatric orthopaedic care,” said Michael Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of LuskinOIC. “We are building an Advanced Imaging Center to eliminate wait times, expanding our Center for Sports Medicine and Motion Analysis Lab, modernizing our specialty clinics from 14 to 32 exam rooms, and creating accessibility upgrades throughout our campus. This gala celebrates our progress and invites the community to be part of a crucial chapter in our 115-year mission to ensure every child has timely access to high-quality diagnosis and treatment.”

More than 80% of LuskinOIC’s patients are underinsured, and LuskinOIC relies on the enduring support of donors and dedicated sponsors to help provide first-class care for children with musculoskeletal injuries and disorders and advances patient-centered care worldwide. In alliance with UCLA Health, LuskinOIC stands as the largest provider of pediatric orthopaedic care on the West Coast, receives more than 60,000 patient visits each year, and offers pro-bono treatment to patients in Calexico and Mexicali, among other cities worldwide.

The gala celebrates the champions of the LuskinOIC community - from our donors and dedicated community partners, to our patients and pediatric specialists.

Sarah & Andrej Jonovic will co-chair the gala. Gala Committee members include Alexis & Brandon Antin, Andjelija Beukman, Debbie Clark, Brad Feld, Kelly Gardina, Mara Jacob, ElizBeth Jones-Mudaliyar, Nora Kahenasa, Dan Madden, Vicky Mar, Kristy Mongiello, Eya Garcia Provan, Kerbanu Pudumjee, Gareth Provan, Nancy Rossi, Toni Steele, Brianna Ziegler, and Nancy Zytko.

Ticket & Sponsorship information here, LuskinOIC Innovation +Access Gala

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About Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children (LuskinOIC)

Founded in 1911, Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children is a nonprofit pediatric orthopaedic hospital dedicated to providing world-class care to children regardless of their families' ability to pay. In partnership with UCLA Health, LuskinOIC serves more than 60,000 patient visits annually, with over 85% of patients covered by Medi-Cal or underinsured. The Institute operates both locally and globally, with pro bono clinics serving underserved communities. For more information, visit luskinoic.org.

About Everychild Foundation

The Everychild Foundation, founded in 2000 is a Los Angeles based women’s grant-making and advocacy organization with over 200 members dedicated to easing the suffering of local children, whether due to disease, disability, abuse, neglect or poverty. Each woman donates an annual contribution, all of which are pooled into a single $1M grant award to a nonprofit proposing a project that improves the lives of vulnerable children and youth. Including this newest grant, Everychild has now awarded close to $25 million to worthy agencies across Los Angeles County.

About UCLA Sarcoma Program

The UCLA Sarcoma Program provides innovative multidisciplinary treatment for adults and children with sarcoma at any stage of the disease. UCLA is one of the three busiest sarcoma centers in the nation. On an annual basis they evaluate over 1000 patients with sarcoma, over 500 of which undergo surgery at UCLA. At UCLA, a patient’s plan of care is decided by their weekly sarcoma tumor board involving physicians specializing in sarcoma from surgical oncology, orthopedic oncology, gynecologic oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pediatric oncology, pathology and radiology. This group of 15-20 physicians formulate and coordinate optimal treatment strategies for individual patients.