Loyola Medicine Ophthalmologists Travel to Guatemala to Provide Advanced Eye Care
July 30, 2024Categories: Ophthalmology
Tags: eye health
MAYWOOD, IL. – As part of a partnership between Loyola Medicine and HF Healthcare Services, a wholly- owned subsidiary of Humanity First USA to advance eye care, a team of specialists recently completed a mission trip to Nasir Hospital in Guatemala to provide essential surgical eye care to underserved communities.
The 14-member team was comprised of 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. The trip also included Loyola Medicine alumni and participants from the United Kingdom, showcasing an expanding global collaboration. Support for the mission was provided by Loyola Medicine’s Thomas A. Stamm Endowment, Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE), Alcon Cares and individual donors. The team transported over 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.
Charles Bouchard, MD, MA, chair of ophthalmology at Loyola Medicine, led the Loyola team. This was the 19th trip to Guatemala by Loyola Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology. "Every trip to Nasir Hospital has been tremendously rewarding. This milestone mission allowed us to serve dozens of patients with the same compassionate care we provide to our patients at Loyola."
The opening of Nasir Hospital in 2018 marked a significant advancement in the region's availability of quality medical care. In the summer of 2023, a new partnership between Humanity First USA, and Loyola Medicine was forged to develop a state-of-the-art Ophthalmology Department at Nasir Hospital. The recent mission trip is part of a broader vision for the future, with plans to conduct 3 - 4 visits per year. These trips will include faculty, residents, medical students and surgical staff from multiple Chicago medical centers, further establishing a collaborative Chicago commitment to Global Eye Care.
The partnership between Humanity First USA and Loyola Medicine marks a critical milestone in providing comprehensive diagnostic and surgical eye care to thousands in Humanity First USA ∙ 4221 Walney Rd, Suite 201, Chantilly, VA 20151, USA ∙ Tel: +1 877 994 3872 ∙ usa.humanityfirst.org need. This partnership aims to elevate the standard of eye care in Guatemala and will serve as a model for international health collaboration.
"Humanity First USA Gift of Sight missions have immediate impact on people’s vision, which ripples into all aspects of their lives. 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." - Dr. Asima Bajwa, Ophthalmologist and Director of the Nasir Hospital Department of Ophthalmology.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
Established in 1961, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital is a 247-licensed-bed community hospital in Melrose Park that includes the Judd A. Weinberg Emergency Department, the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care, Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center, acute rehabilitation, a transitional care center, childcare center and fitness center. Founded in 1919, MacNeal Hospital is a 374-licensed-bed teaching hospital in Berwyn with advanced medical, surgical and psychiatric services and a 68-bed behavioral health program.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).