EYECARE: A Greater Vision Orbis Unveils Redesigned Flying Eye Hospital By Andrew Karp Wednesday, July 20, 2016 12:00 AM NEWARK, N.J.—Orbis, the international charity that fights blindness around the world, unveiled its new Flying Eye Hospital last month on a cross country tour that began in Los Angeles and made stops in Newark, N.J., Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tenn., Dallas, Texas and Sacramento, Calif. More than six years in the making, the third-generation Flying Eye Hospital is the world’s only mobile ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an aircraft. Hundreds of experts have come together to combine the latest in avionics, hospital engineering, technology and clinical expertise to make the new Flying Eye Hospital a reality. It features a modular design, 3D technology and live broadcast capabilities enabling Orbis, alongside its team of over 400 medical volunteers, to train more doctors, nurses and health care professionals—ultimately treating more people and restoring their sight. “Our mission at Orbis is to bring the world together to fight blindness, as we believe that no one should go blind from conditions that are treatable or preventable,” said Bob Ranck, president and CEO, Orbis International. “The Flying Eye Hospital helps us do that. It is in equal parts teacher, envoy and advocate. We harness this powerful tool for change to support long-term programs around the world.” The new Flying Eye Hospital is equipped with everything the Orbis medical team needs to provide hands-on training to local eyecare professionals and convey the know-how to save and restore sight for patients in their own countries. Orbis transforms lives by focusing on all areas of preventable blindness, from cataract—the world’s leading cause of avoidable blindness— to refractive error, glaucoma and strabismus as well as diabetes-related conditions, with a particular emphasis on tackling childhood blindness. Orbis trains the entire eyecare team, from community health workers in rural clinics to eye surgeons in urban centers—a sustainable model that has proved invaluable for its results around the world. The plane boasts new 3D filming and broadcast capabilities so that participants in the classroom can experience and learn from live surgeries with a view similar to the surgeon’s microscope lens. The Flying Eye Hospital includes a 46-seat classroom, state-of-the-art AV/IT room, patient care and laser treatment room, operating room, sterilization room and a pre-and post-operative care room. The hospital suite comprises nine customized modules similar to commercial cargo containers. On a technical basis alone, this pioneering module approach will save money, time and resources. The MD-10 aircraft housing the new Flying Eye Hospital has been donated to Orbis by longtime aviation partner, FedEx, and has been custom designed to bring the best medical technology and training direct to areas of need. It is the only non-land-based hospital in the world that is U.S. accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities International (AAAASFI). In September, the Flying Eye Hospital will touch down in Asia to conduct its inaugural program in Shenyang, China, before heading to Indonesia in November.akarp@jobson.com