OPHTHALMOLOGY TEAMS

The heart of the health problem in Micronesia stems around figuring out how to balance necessary medical resources between remote and distant islands. For years, Canvasback has tackled that problem in a variety of ways like sailing medical teams out to tiny islands, flying in specialists, and developing portable programs that provide world-class care. In all of that, one of our biggest successes has been through our ophthalmology teams which have been able to restore sight to thousands of people whose cataracts or retinal disease had left them blind. It’s a complicated challenge to transport all the necessary equipment, lenses, and personnel to an island hospital and perform the delicate surgery. But our success has set Canvasback apart and earned us a valuable reputation throughout the Pacific.

This year we did better than ever with a coordinated strategy of two teams to the Marshall Islands. The first to the small island of Ebeye where we performed cataract surgery and identified patients with retinal disease. Those patients then flew to Majuro to receive treatment from our retinal specialist. A total of 317 sight giving surgeries were performed.