Loyola Medicine ophthalmologists travel to Guatemala to provide advanced eye care

(Image Credit: AdobeStock/H-Media)

Ophthalmologists working as part of a partnership between Loyola Medicine and HF Healthcare Services, recently completed a mission trip to Nasir Hospital in Guatemala to provide essential surgical eye care to underserved communities.

According to a news release, HF Healthcare Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Humanity First USA.¹

The team of 14 included faculty from the Loyola Medicine Department of Ophthalmology, along with faculty and residents from academic medical centers including Cook County Health, Northwestern Medicine, Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Champlain Ophthalmology in Bethesda, Maryland. Loyola Medicine alumni as well as participants from the United Kingdom participated in the trip, highlighting the global collaboration of the project.

In addition to individual donors, the mission received support from Alcon Cares and Loyola Medicine’s Thomas A. Stamm Endowment, Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE).

The team transported more than 25 containers of essential equipment and supplies to Guatemala, which enabled them to carry out 65 cataract and pterygium surgeries. Loyola's ophthalmology team has collaborated with Humanity First since 2012 to provide critical eye care to those in need in Guatemala.¹

The Loyola team was led by Charles Bouchard, MD, MA, chairman of ophthalmology at Loyola Medicine. It marked the Loyola Department of Ophthalmology’s 19th trip to Guatemala.

“Every trip to Nasir Hospital has been tremendously rewarding,” Bouchard said in the news release. “This milestone mission allowed us to serve dozens of patients with the same compassionate care we provide to our patients at Loyola."

Nasir Hospital, which opened its doors in 2018, marked a milestone in the region's access to quality medical care. In the summer of 2023, a partnership between Humanity First USA, and Loyola Medicine was created to develop a state-of-the-art ophthalmology department at Nasir Hospital.¹

According to the news release, the latest trip trip is part of a broader vision for the future, with a goal of conducting 3 to 4 visits per year. These trips will include faculty, residents, medical students and surgical staff from multiple Chicago-area medical centers, strengthening a collaborative Chicago commitment to Global Eye Care.

Moreover, the partnership between Humanity First USA and Loyola Medicine marks a milestone in providing comprehensive diagnostic and surgical eye care to thousands of people in need. The collaboration hopes to elevate the standard of eye care in Guatemala and will serve as a model for international health collaboration.

Asima Bajwa, MD, an ophthalmologist and the director of the Nasir Hospital Department of Ophthalmology, lauded the collaboration.

"Humanity First USA Gift of Sight missions have immediate impact on people’s vision, which ripples into all aspects of their lives,” Bajwa said. “People came to us able to perceive only light or hand motion and nothing else. After 65 complex cataract and pterygium surgeries, those patients left with amazingly improved vision."

Reference:

1. Loyola Medicine Ophthalmologists Travel to Guatema | Newswise. www.newswise.com. Accessed August 1, 2024. https://d.newswise.com/articles/loyola-medicine-ophthalmologists-travel-to-guatemala-to-provide-advanced-eye-care