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ASCRS Foundation builds, supports clinics in developing countries
John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, discusses the foundation’s work in Ethiopia and around the world with I. Howard Fine, MD, the chairman of the ASCRS Foundation’s governing board.
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John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS: Dr. Fine, please tell us how the ASCRS Foundation came into being.
I. Howard Fine, MD: Several years ago, members of the ASCRS executive committee recognized a need for a foundation that could address the needs of patients, as the art and science of anterior segment surgery advanced, and also somehow address the frequent expressions of gratitude on the part of patients who request the names of organizations that they can support financially.
 John A. Hovanesian |
Dr. Hovanesian: What are the general goals of the organization?
Dr. Fine: The foundation has three highly specific goals. The first is public education and awareness. It is hard for patients to achieve meaningful information about outcomes, risks and details about the surgery they are about to undergo.
The Eye Surgery Education Council, which now falls under the auspices of the foundation, is designed to provide information to patients usually unavailable to them. It provides them information about the clinical trials, risks and rewards, and it also is used as an educational modality to teach physicians.
So it informs and educates physicians, patients and the press. We have enormous credibility now, and the press now turns to the Eye Surgery Education Council to verify or get a response to a story before being misled by sensationalist accounts.
Hopefully, it also has an impact on legislators, health care policy makers and other government and nongovernmental bureaucrats who impact health care.
So patient education and awareness, which includes physician education, is a major goal of the foundation, and the Eye Surgery Education Council is the arm through which much of that is achieved.
The second goal is research. We produce 10 $5,000 grants per year of foundation money to support young ophthalmologists in their research projects. I believe eight of the 10 studies funded for 2006 resulted in papers that were presented at ASCRS this year. One of the grants is doubled as a result of the cooperation of Fight for Sight Foundation, so that’s a $10,000 grant.
In addition, we have one sponsored paper that is the result of the Lieberman family’s donation, called the Howard Lieberman Paper. Dr. Lieberman’s family donated a sum of money from his estate to fund the recipient’s transfer to the ASCRS meeting to present the paper, and this year we had the Howard Lieberman Memorial Paper presented by Daniel Saban, PhD, during the opening session. It was called “Promotion of Allograft Survival in Penetrating Keratoplasty: Is There a Role for ‘Chimeric’ Donor Buttons?” We have other people now informing us that the estates of ophthalmologists are interested in looking at sponsoring named lectures at the ASCRS annual meeting.
Humanitarian goals
Dr. Hovanesian: So the foundation is certainly growing.
Dr. Fine: It is growing well, yes. And, finally, I think one of the most important functions of the foundation is its humanitarian efforts. I think ophthalmologists need humanitarian goals of which we can be proud.
 I. Howard Fine |
The humanitarian endeavor is to do the best we can to address pediatric cataract blindness in the developing world.
Since the incidence of pediatric cataract blindness is so much lower than total cataract blindness, we thought this was a goal that we could perhaps get our arms around, rather than trying to address worldwide cataract blindness.
When we thought about where to start, we chose Ethiopia because one of our members, Bob Sinskey, had a lot of experience in working in Ethiopia as a volunteer and had superb connections that could help us politically and administratively in setting up a clinic. The clinic we have built is the Robert M. Sinskey ASCRS Foundation Pediatric Eye Care Clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Our goal is to set up clinics in developing countries, train local ophthalmologists and equip them with items that we purchase or are donated by industry or our members.
We are relatively young in our work, but we have learned a lot from others who have done the same thing. There are many clinics whose assets have been acquired by governments or by individuals who were a part of the government – especially when governments change – so we have tried to remain completely clear of governmental involvement.
We have learned a lot about how to make soft landings so that we do not antagonize the local community. We have learned a lot about how to maintain these clinics in a self-sustaining way.
Our desire is to have our clinics treat everyone who needs treatment and charge only what the patient can pay. The clinic in Ethiopia is up and running. It is the best-equipped clinic in the horn of Africa, and our surgeon in that clinic is an Ethiopian who is a patriot, a humanitarian and someone who is patient-oriented.
We hope as the clinic gains recognition and visibility that some of the people who can afford cataract surgery and to travel out of the country to get it will go to that clinic and pay what they would pay out of country. This will help support the more unfortunate patients who do not have the resources to pay for the surgery, especially children.
We have received tremendous help from the Aravind system of clinics in India, which is high volume, efficacious and successful. They are willing to train some of our paramedical people and conduct on-site visits in our clinic.
But the most important thing that they have provided is a network for group buying that has reduced the costs in our clinic. Even more importantly, they have given us all of their procedure manuals so that standard operating procedures are followed closely.
We encourage anyone to go and help out, but it is important for them to be seen as an advisor and not the surgeon because some failed clinics sponsored by other organizations have taught us that when First World people go to the Third World and actually do the surgery, the local population tends to wait for the First World surgeons to come.
We hope to appeal to our members, especially those that are looking for activities to do as they start to slow down in their practices, to travel to these clinics at their own expense and teach, supervise and participate in whatever way they can. I think they would find it an engaging, rewarding and enormously satisfying adventure.
Different ways to contribute
Dr. Hovanesian: It sounds like members of ASCRS, and nonmembers for that matter, can contribute to the foundation in a number of ways, not only financially but also by traveling to teach surgery. Are there any other ways that ophthalmologists can help?
Dr. Fine: The most important thing that ophthalmologists could do is direct their grateful patients to contribute to the foundation.
We frequently see patients who are looking for some way to show their gratitude, and they wish to do it in a charitable way. We do have brochures and other materials that practitioners can place in their office.
Dr. Hovanesian: Are financial donations to the foundations tax-deductible?
Dr. Fine: Yes.
Dr. Hovanesian: Can you tell us about what supports the administrative costs of the ASCRS Foundation and what happens with donated dollars?
Dr. Fine: Since its inception a little more than 5 years ago, the ASCRS has totally supported the administrative costs of the foundation. As a result, all of the donated monies are used to address the goals of the foundation. There is no administrative cost in running it.
That will not go on forever, but it certainly gave the foundation a great jump-start and has allowed it to achieve many of its goals rapidly.
I would love to see every member of ASCRS donate the equivalent of one cataract surgical fee to the foundation. It would be a tremendous boost to the foundation’s resources.
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Image: Amin P |
Memorable moments
Dr. Hovanesian: What have been your most memorable moments working with the ASCRS Foundation?
Dr. Fine: I have enjoyed our humanitarian effort because I have so loved working with the members of our pediatric blindness committee.
I have also enjoyed working, of course, with the executive committee of ASCRS. The foundation’s governing board is an independent organization, but we frequently communicate with the executive committee and vice versa.
I also enjoy working with all of the foundation’s governing board members because these are highly visible and highly recognized eye surgeons and members of industry.
As novices in foundation work, we have learned so much from these captains of industry, namely how to conduct the business aspects of a foundation and what are the political and procedural steps that need to be taken.
For more information:
- John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a clinical instructor at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and is in private practice in Laguna Hills, Calif. He can be reached at Harvard Eye Associates, 24401 Calle De La Louisa, Suite 300, Laguna Hills, CA 92653; 949-951-2020; fax: 949-380-7856; e-mail: drhovanesian@harvardeye.com.
- I. Howard Fine, MD, is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and in clinical practice with Drs. Fine, Hoffman & Packer LLC. He can be reached at 1550 Oak St., Suite 5, Eugene, OR 97401; 541-687-2110; fax: 541-484-3883; e-mail: hfine@finemd.com; Web site: www.finemd.com.
- The ASCRS Foundation can be found online at http://www.ascrs.org/Foundation/index.cfm.
- The Eye Surgery Education Council can be found online at www.eyesurgeryeducation.com.