Eye Charity Takes Airborne Healing to World

Eye Charity Takes Airborne Healing to World

LOS ANGELES—

International charity Orbis is helping¹ the visually impaired² through a flying hospital staffed by volunteer doctors and medical workers.  It recently unveiled a new version of its airborne clinic, which will take the latest medical technology around the world.

The world's only flying eye hospital was upgraded in a newly outfitted³ MD-10 aircraft, unveiled in early June in Los Angeles.  

It's the third version of the aircraft for use by volunteer doctors such as pediatric ophthalmologist Dan Neely of the Indiana University School of Medicine.  He says this plane has state-of-the-art technology, but partner facilities on the ground sometimes do not.  He has been a medical volunteer in Jamaica, Southeast Asia and Africa.

"You can be in Zambia and the power goes out in the middle of the surgery," he said.  "You can be there needing to scrub your hands for the surgery and you have to use a bucket of water because the water's gone out."

Orbis partners with local clinics as it takes its programs to Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Latin America, says Dr. Jonathan Lord, the charity's global medical director.  

"You've then got Asia, where we work in China, we work in Vietnam," he explained. "We have projects running in India, in Bangladesh.  We work in Indonesia, so we take the plane wherever our gap analysis, wherever the needs analysis says we can be of help."

More than 285 million people in the world are visually impaired, most in low income countries, according to the World Health Organization.  It says 80 percent of visual impairment issues can be prevented or cured.

Orbis says 19 million children are among the blind and visually impaired and with early intervention⁴ and comprehensive treatment, half of those children could have their sight restored.

Among those anxious to help are volunteer pilots.  Captain Gary Dyson usually flies cargo⁵ planes for FedEx, but takes time off to fly for Orbis.  

"When you see a child who can't see on Monday and they can see on Wednesday, you're hooked," he said.  "You want to see it again and again."

The change in a patient's life after surgery can be dramatic, says Rosalind Stevens, a volunteer doctor from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.  She says, "When we remove the patch the next day, frequently the patient breaks into a big smile."

Orbis provides advanced medical training for doctors and nurses in the countries where it lands, in a 46-seat onboard classroom that is linked electronically to the plane's operating room, said Orbis CEO Bob Ranck, a retired⁶ U.S. Air Force brigadier general.

"We teach others to save and restore vision," he said.  "And we teach health care systems to make it a priority so the prevalence of blindness in their country will come down."

From 2009-2015, Orbis conducted nearly 20,000 doctor trainings and more than 150,000 training sessions for nurses and medical technicians, in addition to advocacy work with local officials.  It performed more than 18 million screenings on board its plane or at partner facilities.

The newest version of the flying hospital, donated by FedEx, will make preliminary flights to several U.S. cities, then conduct a medical program in Shenyang, China, in September.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。