Eyeworld Daily News

Register Onsite! Saturday, April 20 A New Advancement in the Ocular Delivery of Loteprednol Etabonate InterContinental San Francisco – Grand Ballroom 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM Registration and dinner reception 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM Program 8:30 PM – 9:00 PM Reception Program Chair Marguerite B. McDonald, MD Faculty Rajesh K. Rajpal, MD Stephen S. Lane, MD Sunday, April 21 Selecting an NSAID for Surgery: What Really Matters? InterContinental San Francisco – Grand Ballroom 7:30 PM – 8:00 PM Registration and dinner reception 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM Program 9:00 PM – 9:30 PM Reception Program Chair John A. Hovanesian, MD Faculty Bonnie An Henderson, MD Mitchell A. Jackson, MD These programs are non-CME. For more program information visit EyeWorld.org/meetings/bausch San Francisco 2013 EW SHOW DAILY 20 by Don Bell ASCRS Associate Executive Director Construction nears completion on ASCRS Foundation's Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Ethiopia Expanded facility to include an optical shop A fter four months of con- struction, the expansion of the ASCRS Founda- tion's Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in nearly complete. Once finished, the new facility will be triple the size of the original build- ing, enabling the Foundation to meet the ever-growing demand for its services. The Sinskey Eye Institute has treated more than 60,000 patients since its founding in 2005. Its full- time staff of 12 includes two oph- thalmologists and six ophthalmic nurses. For the past seven years, they have worked out of two small exam lanes and a single operating room. Although the original building was modest, its reputation is outstanding with many local officials, business- people, and their families choosing to have their surgery at the Founda- tion's facility. Pranav Amin, MD, Yuba City, Calif., who recently returned from a teaching visit to the Sinskey Eye Institute, sees an exciting future in Ethiopia for the ASCRS Foundation and the patients it serves. "We have an incredibly dedicated Ethiopian medical team in place," he said. The institute's lead surgeon, Allehone Ayalew, MD, has 25 years of experience. Prior to joining the Sinskey Eye Institute, he headed the ophthalmic residency program at Addis Ababa University. "He has ex- ceptional rapport and is committed to his patients and his country," said Dr. Amin. "[Zerihun Mekonen Hailu, MD] is our newest surgeon. He is fluent in English and excited by the opportunity to work with Dr. Allehone and the Foundation's visit- ing instructors. In addition to three years of government service, he has worked in Equatorial Guinea and with the Himalayan Cataract Proj- ect. He possesses all of the qualifica- tions needed to become a future leader in Ethiopian ophthalmology." Once complete, the new build- ing will include a double-sized oper- ating room, three exam rooms, two work-up rooms, an optical shop, registration, records, and expanded waiting areas. According to Dr. Amin, "The flow will be extremely efficient and will eliminate the bot- tlenecks now experienced with so many patients crowding such a small building." The Sinskey Eye Institute opened in 2005 and treated fewer than 1,500 patients its first year. "When we first opened, we knew very little about Ethiopia. We knew there was an incredible need from the stories we heard from those who had done mission work in the coun- try," said past ASCRS Foundation chairman I. Howard Fine, MD, Eugene, Ore. "With a local partner who helped with logistics, the Foun- dation was able to establish and equip a small building in the Gulele sub-city. Addis Ababa is a city of more than four million, and Gulele is among its poorer sections." Although it took several years for the Sinskey Eye Institute to es- tablish a foothold in the Addis Ababa medical community, the ASCRS Foundation never wavered in its approach to providing care. "From the very beginning, we felt that we should look to create a permanent solution. Addis is a regu- lar stop for a large number of visit- ing eyecare programs, and they do an incredible job treating large pa- tient volumes during the short peri- ods of time that they are in the country. Our approach was different, however. We wanted a permanent facility that would be open every day and would be staffed by local ophthalmologists who spoke the language, knew their patients, and could be available to them year- round," said Dr. Fine. The key to making the Founda- tion's approach work was providing the staff surgeons with the training needed to build trust with the com- munity. In addition to Dr. Amin, ASCRS members David Robinson, MD, Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Geoff Tabin, MD, Salt Lake City; Alan Crandall, MD, Salt Lake City; Susan Senft, MD, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Barry Smith, MD, Visalia, Calif.; M. Edward Wilson, MD, Charleston, S.C.; and Azeb Telahun, MD, Clin- ton, Md., have spent time with the Sinskey Eye Institute staff, working on everything from efficient patient flow to refining phacoemulsification technique. "With the construction of our expanded facility in Addis, we're entering a new stage of involvement in Ethiopia," said Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, Minneapolis. "I'm excited by our plans and feel that there are few places in the world where our overall impact could be more dramatic. I encourage everyone to become involved." To support the Foundation's work in Ethiopia, visit www.ascrs- foundation.org. EW Saturday, April 20, 2013 ASCRS News Today The Sinskey Eye Institute building has been expanded to triple its overall size. Pranav Amin, MD, (center in white shirt) with the Sinskey Eye Institute staff. Patients awaiting treatment at the Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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