Syracuse Physicians Raise Funds to Renovate Hospital in La Ceiba
Thursday, 17 November 2011 07:05
By James Mulder
A group of eye surgeons from Syracuse, New York, who have been traveling to Honduras for more than 20 years to provide free surgery and eye exams for the poor is raising money to renovate the hospital in La Ceiba where they operate. The doctors have formed a non-profit organization, Honduran Eye and Life Program, and are making plans to hold a major fundraising event this winter. Dr. Tom Bersani said each spring he and three other eye surgeons accompanied by a team of anesthesiologists, optometrists, nurses, technicians and other volunteers travel to the impoverished country for one week.
On their last trip the team performed 80 surgeries, including corneal transplants and cataract surgeries, and screened more than 250 patients, providing them with glasses and eye drops. Over the last 20 years the group has done an estimated 800 surgeries. The other eye surgeons include Drs. Robert Weisenthal, Stephen W. Merriam and Lawrence C. Stewart.
The doctors have always self-funded the mission and used donated equipment. Bersani said they have decided to begin raising money to renovate the hospital in La Ceiba. "The people there have huge needs, but they have very antiquated facilities," Bersani said. A more modern facility would make it possible for the Syracuse doctors and other groups of eye surgeons to go to Honduras more often and treat even more people.
For more information about the Honduran Eye and Life Program, write to: Dr. Robert Weisenthal, CNY EyeCare, 5770 Commons Park, PO Box 48, DeWitt, NY 13214. (11/17/11)
Note: This article was originally published in The Syracuse Post-Standard. It was reprinted with permission of the Editor.
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