Orbis Launches Seventh Flying Eye Hospital Program in Mongolia to Support Long Term Development Activities

The Flying Eye Hospital will provide intense thematic and subspecialty training in Ulaanbaatar over two week program

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Jul 21, 2014, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) is visiting Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the seventh time to conduct an intensive and comprehensive training and skills exchange program aimed at strengthening ophthalmic services in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The program focus is on subspecialty training in the areas of cataract, glaucoma, medical retina for adults and pediatric cataract, strabismus and oculoplastics. The comprehensive activities will provide hands-on training to the local eye care community including doctors, nurses and biomedical engineers.

Orbis operates the Flying Eye Hospital (FEH), a fully equipped mobile teaching hospital. On the outside, the plane is like most other aircraft. Inside, it's like no other - it hosts an ophthalmic hospital and teaching facility right on board. Learn more: orbis.org (PRNewsFoto/Orbis)

Orbis works side-by-side with local partners to provide eye care professionals including optometrists, nurses, anesthesiologists and biomedical engineers with continuing medical education through workshops, lectures and hands-on training. Here, an ophthalmologist guides trainees through surgery during the FEH's 2011 Ulaanbaatar program. Learn more: orbis.org (PRNewsFoto/Orbis)

Family members remove a child patient's eye patch after undergoing sight-restoring surgery as a teaching case during the FEH's 2011 Ulaanbaatar program. Learn more: orbis.org (PRNewsFoto/Orbis)

"The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital team is pleased to be back in Ulaanbaatar," said Dr. Ahmed Gomaa, Medical Director of the Flying Eye Hospital. "We look forward to reconnecting with past trainees we have mentored over the years as well as working alongside the next generation of ophthalmologists and eye health workers. We are excited to continue working together to deliver the highest standards of training, so that in turn the ophthalmic community in this country can continue to build a strong, high-quality service."

The Flying Eye Hospital program is focusing on strengthening and supporting the Model of Excellence in Modern Ophthalmology (MEMO Mongolia) Adult and Pediatric Vision Network projects that have been planned in cooperation with the Mongolian Ministry of Health. MEMO Mongolia is aimed at building capacity in adult and pediatric ophthalmology.

"Orbis has a long tradition of working in Mongolia. We have conducted various programs since the 1990s," explains George Smith, Director of the Orbis North Asia. "In September we will launch the Pediatric MEMO initiative in collaboration with the National Center for Maternal and Child Health in Ulaanbaatar, the main provider of children's eye care in Mongolia, and 5 Aimag (county-level) hospitals in rural Mongolia to create a model comprehensive vision care network. The FEH program networks for the future."

During the first week of the program, the focus will be on subspecialty training of pediatric eye care at the National Center for Maternal and Child Health. Week two will take place at the State Central Third Hospital focusing on adult care including training in MSICS and Phaco techniques for adult cataract, glaucoma and medical retina with a focus on diabetic retinopathy.

About Prevention of Blindness Worldwide
On a global scale, 285 million people are visually impaired. An estimated 80 percent of all visual impairment can be avoided or cured. Approximately 90 percent of all visually impaired people live in developing countries.

About Orbis
Orbis prevents and treats blindness through hands-on training, public health education, improved access to quality eye care, advocacy and partnerships with local health care organizations. By building long-term capabilities, Orbis helps its partner institutions take action to reach a state where they can provide, on their own, quality eye care services that are affordable, accessible, and sustainable. To learn more about Orbis, please visit www.orbis.org.

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SOURCE Orbis