On Saturday, May 20th Insight Vision Center joined the Flying Samaritans to give healthcare to 43 local people in El Hongo, Mexico.
Our team consisted of:
- 37 pre-health students from Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside
- 7 doctors- including emergency room doctors, internists, cardiologist, and optometrist.
- 2 pharmacy students, 2 Nurses, 3 EMT’s
- 3 optometry students from SCCO
On the optometry side, our eye team was able to see 14 patients and provide comprehensive eye exams and glasses to our patients. Thanks to a generous donation from Cal Coast Ophthalmic Instruments http://www.calcoastophthalmic.com/ we were able to have a fully equipped exam room, with a phoropters and a slit lamp! This greatly improved the quality of our health care and also allowed us to find the correct glasses prescription for our patients.
Another God-send was a new agreement between Essilor, https://essilorusa.com/ one of the largest lens manufacturers in the world, and the Flying Samaritans. Dennis Mayo, the director of operations and programs of Essilor Vision Foundation, not only believes in the work that the Flying Samaritans are doing, but was so generous to provide free lenses for all patients. Instead of giving the patients donated glasses (which would have a prescription that was close, but not exact), we could now actually make them an exact prescription and even prescribe bifocals which many of the patients needed.
Special recognition is due to our man, Jaime Antonio, who has worked tirelessly to get the optometry side of this clinic up and running smoothly. It is because of his passion and dedication that the patients of the El Hongo clinic have access to good eye care. Stay tuned to hear stories of their next clinic, opening up in a neighboring city.
As healthcare providers, may we never forget how privileged we are to have the knowledge of modern medicine. Our duty to provide healthcare should reach beyond just the walls of our clinics, but should extend to our neighbors and those around us…
