IEF Sustainability Initiatives Highlighted in Community Eye Health Journal

IEF's sustainability initiatives were highlighted in an article published in the January issue of Community Eye Health Journal.  The Journal is published by the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London.  The article is titled "How fixed fees and patient choice can support eye care for the poorest".

Written by Victoria Sheffield, Raheem Rahmathullah and John Barrows, the article focuses on IEF's partner Clinica Oftalmologica Divino Nino Jesus in Peru.  To view the complete article, click Community Eye Health January 2014.

Victoria Sheffield Honored with AAO Secretariat Award

Victoria Sheffield received a Secretariat Award at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting in New Orleans in November.  Her notification letter states "The Secretariat Award recognizes special contributions to the Academy and to ophthalmology. You have been selected for your dedication to the Global Outreach Committee. Over the years, you worked diligently to organize successful International Forums bringing information on and awareness about ophthalmology in developing countries to the Annual Meeting attendees".

Haiti - Sovereign Military Order of Malta Supports Expansion of Outreach Services

A generous grant from the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is supporting the expansion of Clinique Vision Plus's outreach program. Since the clinic's opening, critical outreach to the communities they serve has been building. This new grant will help evaluate communities and establish regular site visits and schedules..  One of the goals of our work in Haiti is to integrate the provision of free services along with paid and subsidized services. This grant will allow for greater coordination of visiting teams from abroad to support free surgeries, creating awareness of and credibility for the service.  IEF thanks Mr. Lou Donatelli, husband of former IEF Board member Ann Donatelli, who sponsored our proposal to SMOM.

May is Healthy Vision Month

The National Eye Institute/National Institutes of Health has declared May to be Healthy Vision Month.  Everyone is encouraged to get an eye exam and to make eye care a priority.  Check out their website at http://www.nei.nih.gov/hvm for more information.

 Eyes are your most precious sense...

Care for them properly... 

Have regular eye exams!

REACHING THE POOR WITH NEW EYE CLINIC IN MANAGUA

Dr. Francisco Delgado (far left front) with staff
and IEF's Raheem Rahmathullah (far right)

OPENING OF CLINICA OFTALMOLOGICA OJO SANO

The International Eye Foundation and Vision for the Poor are proud to announce the opening of a new social enterprise eye clinic in Managua, Nicaragua.  The grand opening of Clinica Oftalmologica Ojo Sano will be Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 10 a.m. 

Representatives from the Nicaragua and Managua Ministries of Health have been invited along with representatives from the office of the US Ambassador to Nicaragua.  Representatives from the local Rotary International club, local Lions Clubs International, International Eye Foundation, Vision for the Poor, Visualiza (Guatemala), along with Mario Secasa representing Future of Nicaragua will be present.

A joint partnership of the International Eye Foundation (IEF) and Vision for the Poor has worked for over a year with Dr. Francisco Abraham Delgado Dolmus to establish this new social enterprise eye clinic serving all segments of the population in and around the capital Managua, Nicaragua.  Dr. Delgado, a senior ophthalmologist with 20 years experience practicing in the government and private sectors, founded the Fundación Oftalmológica Nicaragüense de Prevención de Ceguera (FONIPRECE) and will be Chief Ophthalmologist for Clinica Oftalmologica Ojo Sano.  With private, fee paying and social services, the new clinic will have a sliding fee structure allowing revenue for sustainability and to cross-subsidize services for the poor who cannot pay.  Providing quality Ophthalmic and Optical services to residents of Managua as well as patients from surrounding rural areas, the clinic will be staffed by Nicaraguan ophthalmologists who are there full time.

Fee paying (for profit) services will offset the cost of the social services and by the end of three years, the clinic will be self-sustaining reducing the need for outside funding for core costs.  This demonstrated, verifiable approach to affordable eye care for all is working successfully in 17 countries with IEF’s 29 current sustainability partners.  The clinic in Managua will adhere to the same management and organizational principles.  IEF gratefully acknowledges grant support for this program from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind. 

Honoring Dr. Paul Steinkuller

On Sunday, October 23, the International Eye Foundation honored Dr. Paul Steinkuller of Houston with its 2011 Promotion of Peace and Vision Award for an ophthalmologist. IEF President & CEO Victoria Sheffield presented the Award assisted by Dr. Larry Schwab, a past recipient and IEF Board member. The presentation was made during a reception held during the 2011 American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Orlando.

Dr. Steinkuller received the Award in recognition of his over three decades commitment to international blindness prevention. In the 1980s, he and his family worked in Kenya on behalf of IEF. His life work is testament to his dedication to the ideals of Dr. King's vision of "...the promotion of peace through the prevention of blindness."

Pictured above (L to R): Dr. Paul Steinkuller, Victoria Sheffield, Dr. Schwab

World Sight Day 2011 - October 13, 2011

Cost-Effectiveness of Blindness Prevention Activities

Join the International Eye Foundation on Thursday, October 13, 2011 from 12 noon-1:15pm for a Capitol Hill briefing in the House Rayburn Building B-340. Held on World Sight Day, the event will discuss groundbreaking, cost-effective health interventions that have prevented vision loss, such as vitamin A supplementation and cataract surgery. Featured speakers are:

· Kevin Frick, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Center for Global Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

· Louis Pizzarello, M.D., Columbia University, IAPB, Vision 2020/USA (host)

International Eye Foundation is a founding member of Vision2020/USA and is a co-sponsor for the World Sight Day briefing.

To attend, RSVP your attendance to Dina Beaumont at dinabeau@aol.com or (202)530-4672.

World Sight Day is an international day of awareness held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment.