ORBIS International Flying Eye Hospital Is Coming!

On March 27, ORBIS International, and its global team of volunteer eye care specialists, brought their Flying Eye Hospital to the coastal city of Dalian, in Liaoning province. They would join efforts with He Eye Hospital, Dalian to carry out a two-week international training and free treatment program. It is also the second time that ORBIS International Flying Eye Hospital has cooperated with He Eye Hospital to develop the international blindness prevention program, after the Shenyang Program in 2004.

On March 30, He Eye Hospital • ORBIS International Flying Eye Hospital Dalian Program was officially started. At the launching ceremony, Mr. Jim Ueltschi, the executive director of ORBIS International, said this would be the thirty-sixth ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital program in China, and it was also the second time that ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital arrived in Dalian following 1995.

As a Non-profit International Humanitarian Development Organization, ORBIS International has been committed to the global public welfare activities for blindness prevention and treatment, aiming to disseminate medical knowledge and train ophthalmologists. Its typical Flying Eye Hospital is converted from a DC-10, equipped with the best medical and teaching facilities.

Classroom in Flying Eye Hospital

Operation Room in Flying Eye Hospital
Note: on March 29, a patient called Tian Jiaxiang received the diagnosis by ORBIS specialists in He Eye Hospital, Dalian. On the same day, he celebrated his twelfth birthday. Next day, he would undergo surgery by international specialists in the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. It is convinced that this was his best birthday gift, presented by He Eye Hospital and ORBIS.

During its stay in Dalian, the Flying Eye Hospital would give diagnosis and treatment for 200 patients in 7 specialties, perform different surgeries for 100 patients, and provide training for local doctors and nurses on operation, nursing, anesthesia, etc. Meanwhile, the eye care specialists would join volunteers to popularize eye care knowledge and promote the latest techniques for eye diseases prevention and treatment.

President He Wei said ORBIS is the largest international partner of He Eye Hospital in blindness prevention and treatment. Since 2004, they have joined hands to develop many projects, from which, tens of thousands of patients benefited, most of whom even underwent lower or free surgeries, and meanwhile, a large number of ophthalmologists, especially county-level doctors received the free training opportunity.
In 2009, the pediatric eye care center jointly set up by ORBIS and He Eye Hospital, Dalian was officially launched. The program is scheduled to establish the largest pediatric eye care center in Northeast area, Liaoning Province within three years. It is expected to provide international, professional and high-quality diagnosis and treatment service for child patients to ensure early prevention, early detection and early treatment, and meanwhile provide training for pediatric ophthalmologists, in the hope of enhancing pediatric medical level in Northeast area.
President He Wei said, with the support of ORBIS International, He Eye Hospital is expected to become the first eye care center of excellence in China, which will provide accessible, affordable, and sustainable high-quality ophthalmological service for patients, by means of training, treatment and screening, etc, and play an important role in Northeast blindness prevention and treatment.