The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is unlike any plane you’ve seen before. A state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom and recovery room – this amazing aircraft has been an example of the marriage between medicine and aviation since 1982. Equal parts teacher, advocate and envoy in the global effort to end avoidable blindness our state-of-the-art flying teaching hospital allows our world leading volunteers to travel the world sharing knowledge and developing skills with the communities that need it most. Once a cargo plane, the interior of our third-generation Flying Eye Hospital has been completely transformed thanks to the support of our many generous partners.
The Flying Eye Hospital is not only packed with the latest medical equipment, it has some of the very latest training facilities, too. The entire plane is linked up through an advanced audio visual system, meaning those in the classroom can watch surgeries happening in the operating room live in 3D – making it as close to the real thing as looking down the microscope yourself. The aircraft also features a state of the art Mobile Simulation Center which uses virtual reality, cutting-edge prosthetics, and highly sophisticated, life-like mannequins, so that eye care teams can build their skills and confidence safely before progressing to real-life surgeries.
“We have made significant progress in improving the quality of eye care in Ethiopia over the past 20-plus years, but we know there is still much work to be done to further increase eye health in the country,” said Derek Hodkey, President & CEO of Orbis International. “Our virtual training projects, enabled by our incredible volunteers and supporters, have proven to be instrumental in training the next generation of eye health professionals in Ethiopia and beyond.”
Orbis established their presence in Ethiopia nearly 25 years ago with an in-country office in Addis Ababa. Since then, they have transformed the eye care sector, including by establishing the Eye Bank of Ethiopia. They recently announced the launch of a new virtual Flying Eye Hospital program in Ethiopia that will provide tailored training to eye care professionals on treating glaucoma and cataract, leading causes of blindness and visual impairment in the country.
