![]() ![]() Since 1982, three generations of the Flying Eye Hospital have taken training to eye care teams in over 95 countries around the world. This year, Orbis is also celebrating 40 years since the Flying Eye Hospital took its first flight. Globally, Alcon operates 10 AECs along with 26 training centers and 42 wet labs where training is focused on upskilling ophthalmologists and optometrists so that they are proficient in the latest techniques and technologies. "We are pleased to welcome participating learners to our Fort Worth Alcon Experience Center where they will have hands-on experience with Alcon surgical equipment to build their skills and confidence in eye care techniques such as Phaco cataract, medical retina and glaucoma procedures." "Alcon is proud of our more than 40-year partnership with Orbis, as we've worked together to improve volume and access to quality eye care that benefits underserved populations in communities around the world," said David Endicott, CEO of Alcon. ![]() Alcon's expert biomedical engineers and trainers also participate in Orbis programs, sharing their skills and knowledge to help program participants learn to operate and maintain critical medical technology. "While the plane has continued its mission virtually over the past 2 years, this is an unmistakable sign of hope, a chance to pick up where we left off and an opportunity to apply new innovations to our fight against avoidable blindness."Īlcon, through its charitable donation foundations Alcon Foundation and Alcon Cares, has been a supporter of Orbis for over 40 years, providing monetary donations and ophthalmic equipment, surgical products, and supplies for Orbis's Flying Eye Hospital and partner hospitals around the world. ![]() "When the pandemic broke out in March 2020, we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the second half of a training we were delivering in Fort Worth in partnership with Alcon, so we could not think of a more fitting place for the Flying Eye Hospital to return to in-person programming," said Derek Hodkey, President and CEO of Orbis International. This helps ensure ongoing continuity of and local access to eye care in their home countries. A select group of these participants, who are already highly experienced ophthalmologists, will also participate in a train-the-trainer course, which will deepen their ability to train the next generation of eye care professionals. Participants will also learn to treat other conditions that threaten vision, including glaucoma, the most common cause of irreversible blindness. Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness worldwide 2 despite being treatable with an operation that can take as little as 10 to 15 minutes. Learning surgical skills for cataract removal will be a major focus of the training. Simulation training allows the visiting eye care teams to grow their confidence in a training environment before moving on to real-life surgical procedures. The participants will hone their skills using cutting-edge ophthalmic surgical simulation training technology on the Flying Eye Hospital, which is currently at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, and additional hands-on training in the Alcon Experience Center (AEC), a state-of-the-art training facility on Alcon's nearby campus. Over a 2-week period, Orbis's clinical staff and volunteer faculty (medical experts), along with Alcon bioengineers and trainers, will share their knowledge with nearly 50 ophthalmologists, ophthalmology residents, nurses and biomedical engineers from several countries throughout the Caribbean, 1 helping them build skills to fight avoidable blindness in their communities. Orbis International’s director of programme development and quality Amelia Geary added that the team aims “to transform lives with the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness.On August 8, Orbis International, with support from Alcon, will kick off its first in-person training project on board the Flying Eye Hospital-a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board a plane-since the pandemic began. All this can be prevented with education and screening, and with all this here, it will help to highlight this problem that we can make the population more aware that you need to get your eyes checked when you have certain conditions,” said Mowatt. “We have to find a way to reduce blindness from preventable diseases like diabetic retinopathy retinopathy of prematurity. With data from 2017 showing that in North America and the Caribbean, Jamaica has the fifth-largest population of people ages 18 to 99 living with diabetes, Mowatt urged persons to ensure that they get their eyes checked. Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |