Together with our co-founder the Vejdusit Foundation and our international partners, we are collaborating to build a better future and brighter prognosis for the people of Myanmar and Thailand. With full subspecialty care and corrective surgery, the state of eye health can improve rapidly given the talented community of doctors in the country.
At the onset of our program in Myanmar, there were only two cornea, one oculoplastics, one retina, and two pediatric subspecialists, and orthoptists and echographers to provide care to the entire population. Along with a small group of organizations and great investment in Myanmar, the country has succeeded in strongly increasing the number of ophthalmology subspecialists in Myanmar and general ophthalmologist and eye care staff.
In the summer of , OHSU announced the details of a global health partnership with key leaders in the country of Myanmar at the Casey Eye Institute. Joseph E. Robertson, M. In the 21 st century, there are currently only nine monks with that designation. The goal of the partnership is to build a sustainable model in Myanmar that will raise the standard of care for its people.
The Mid-level Ophthalmic Personnel Training Program provides training at Tipitaka Eye Hospital in Myanmar, a destination for many rural citizens who cannot afford medical care. This is a monk-led hospital working solely on charity care. The ophthalmic technicians, nurses, orthoptists and faculty at the Casey Eye Institute actively train nurse aids to become technicians through online courses and on-site training at Casey Eye Institute. One of the focus areas is to train nurse aides to specialize in pediatric eye care.
Nurse aids are supported in this training by traveling to Casey Eye Institute and through regularly scheduled trips for our specialists and trainers to travel to Myanmar. The Casey Eye Institute pediatric eye doctors have developed and established the Child Eye Health Program in Myanmar that is delivered by local eye nurse assistants using resources provided by the Myanmar Ministry of Health.
