1. science
2. medicine
3. surgery

5/13/2013
Topics
VOLUNTEERING AS AN
OPHTHALMIC TECHNICIAN :
AT HOME AND ABROAD
Warren A. Whitford
Whitford,, COMT
Volunteer Experience
• Volunteering since I was a teenager
• Organizations:
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Crossroads International
EMAS
Medical Aid for Vietnam
Knights of Malta
Canadian Eyesight Global
Clearly Contacts Program
Volunteer experience locally
• Volunteering locally at outreach clinics for the
poor and needy with Dr. David Neima,
Neima, The
Knights
g
of Malta and Canadian Eyesight
y g
Global:
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Vancouver
Abbotsford
Mission
Maple Ridge
Surrey
Coquitlam
Squamish
• Volunteering in your community
• Volunteering overseas
• Useful equipment
q p
to bring
g on an
outreach clinic
• Obstacles and how to overcome them
• Conclusion
Volunteer Experience
• Volunteered in:
• Africa
• Vietnam
• Philippines
• Yellowknife & NWT
• All parts of Lower Mainland
Why it’s important to
volunteer
• Everybody in Canada has access to
Eyecare (Myth)
• Homeless, Drug addicts
• Migrant workers
• New Imigrants
• Welfare (rigid rules)
• Many poor people do not have easy access
to the facilities needed for eye exams
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5/13/2013
Downtown Eastside
The Door Is Open
• “For many Poor and handicapped
people and those on low incomes, the
cost of eyeglasses can be a real barrier
to
t getting
tti the
th best
b t eyesight
i ht possible”
ibl ”
Knights of Malta
• Bi annual eyeglass
clinics since 2001
• Serve the poor and
needy in Vancouver
and the lower
mainland
• Clinics are lead by
Dr David Neima
• Organized by Frank
and Terry
McCullough
The Knights of Malta
Knights of Malta
• Patients are screened by the volunteer
doctors
Tony Viani and Frank McCullough
• People that are found to have serious
eye conditions are followed up with
local ophthalmologists, free
medications and treatment are arranged
for them.
Knights of Malta
• Many people we see are legally blind for
want of lenses and just need glasses.
• Some have very
y old g
glasses that need
replacing.
• Over 24 clinics and over 1,200 pairs of
glasses were donated free of charge since
2001
The Door Is Open
Helping the Homeless
Tony Viani and some of his students from the
Douglas College Dispensing Optician program fit
people needing glasses
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5/13/2013
Door is Open
• Saw this lady at the Door
is Open Outreach Clinic.
• Discovered she needed
Cataract Surgery.
• Arranged to have her
come into our clinic for
proper measurements.
The Door is Open
The students then made the glasses at the Douglas
College lab and returned a week later to fit the
patients with their new glasses.
• She belongs to an order
that does not receive any
form of income.
• Dr. Neima paid for the surgery
and lenses.
• Dr. Neima arranged for
her to have the surgery.
Canadian Eyesight Global
• Canadian nonnon-profit society sponsored
by the Rotary Club of SurreySurrey-Guildford
• Anup Singh Jubbal – president &
founder of project Eyesight India
Sister PostPost-Op
Follow up, one day PostPost-Op – healthy eyes and
very happy !
Canadian Eyesight Global
Sikh Temple Outreach
• 77,000 free cataract surgeries in India
Canadian Eyesight Global
Dr. Neima
Since 2001, Dr Neima has provided free
eye screening clinics at Sikh temples
around the lower mainland.
Dr. Remierez
Recently: March 10, 2013 we saw
over 250 people. Many just
needed prescriptions for glasses,
while others were candidates for
cataract surgery and glaucoma
treatment.
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5/13/2013
Canadian Eyesight Global
“I’m amazed that in a country like Canada
there’s so many people walking around with
20/200 vision.”
Outreach was for all
Canadian Eyesight Global
The IndoIndo-Canadian Voice Mar 23/13
Downtown Eastside
• Welfare recipients do
not have access to
facilities like an
Ophthalmologist’s
Clinic.
Union Gospel Mission
Outreach Clinic
Clearly Contacts Program
• We gave over 200 pairs
of glasses in partnership
with the Clearly
Contacts Program.
It’s a wonderful feeling
when you can help
somebody with something
as simple as a pair of
glasses.
Before leaving
Volunteer experience overseas
• August 1995 – March 1996 in Africa with
Canadian Crossroads International
• Non profit organization that sends Canadian
Youth to developing countries on volunteer
work placements for 44--12 months.
• 13 trips to Vietnam since 2000 with
Medical Aid For Vietnam; Evangelical
Medical Aid Society (EMAS)
• Purchase medical and travel insurance
• Ensure your passport is valid up to 6 months after trip date.
• Ensure you obtain all required Visas
• Visit a travel clinic and ensure your vaccinations are all up to
date.
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Hepatitis A & B
Typhoid
Dukarol for traveler’s diarrhea
Malaria prophylaxis
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5/13/2013
Swaziland, Africa
Kingdom of Swaziland
Kingdom of Swaziland
Seasons in Swaziland
• Population: 1 million +
• Official Languages: SiSwati & English
• Geography: many different types of terrain
from mountainous to rainforest
• Spring : Sep
Sep--Oct approx. 20 ° C
• Summer: Nov – Dec approx 40 ° C
• Autumn: Apr
p – May
y approx.
pp
17 ° C
• Winter : Jun – Aug approx. 13 ° C
• Climate: Subtropical conditions
Where I worked and lived
My little friends
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5/13/2013
What did I do in Africa?
• Worked as a volunteer in the eye dept
of the Mbabane Government Hospital
Assisting Dr. Dlamini in
surgery
Weekly Routine
• Assistant to the Chief Ophthalmologist
• 3 clinic days per week (mon, wed, fri)
• 2 surgery
g y days
y ((tues, thurs))
• Patient load: approx. 135 people/day
• 10
10--30 surgeries
At work, what did I see?
Acacia thorn in the eye
• Cataracts
• Glaucoma
• TRAUMA
• Orbital cellulitis
• Caterpillar hairs in the eye
• Thorn in the eye
Too many others to mention
Photo from pbase.com
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5/13/2013
In patient buddies
The Eye Ward
Exploring the country side
Kruger National Park
Victoria Falls Zimbabwe
Friendly faces
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5/13/2013
Small rural village
Getting around using Public
Transportation
View of Capetown from Table
Mountain
Goodbye Swaziland
Good Morning Vietnam!!
Medical Aid For Vietnam
• Charitable project
• Founded in 1994 by
• Dr Daivid Neima
• Dr Hugh Parsons
• Rev Tien Tran
• 1 or more trips per year since 1994
• Goal: To bring medical aid to those without
access to basic medical care.
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5/13/2013
Geography of Vietnam
SE Asia
3620 KM coastline
Mountainous ,Lush valleys, Numerous rivers
Borders
d
with
h Cambodia,
b d Laos, China
h
Hanoi-- Capital
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City -largest city
-economic driver
90 million
Recent History
• Communist government
• Boat people – persecution,proverty and
hopelessness -2 million
• 1986 started a market economy
• No socialized medicine
Some of the first things you
notice…
Vietnam
54 Ethnic Groups
Many with their own language,
customs and habits.
Multiple religions
- Confucianism
- Buddhism
- Christianity
All over
Vietnam
Mission – 2 weeks
Ho Chi Minh City
Hanoi
Da Nang
Hue
Pleiku
Mekong Delta
Nha Trang
Buon Me Thuot
Many more small Villages
Let’s have a Packing Party!
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5/13/2013
Teams
1- 3 teams of approx 2020-22 people with the
following departments:
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Ophthalmology
O hth l l
Dental
G.P.
Pharmacy
Surgical
Personnel needed
All doctors
Dentists
Pharmacist
Optometrists
Refractionists
Nurses
Priests
Translators
Volunteers
Anyone with a desire to help the sick, the poor and
the less fortunate
Outreach Clinics
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5/13/2013
Eye Team
The Eye Team
• Medical eye care
• Refractions
• Given glasses
g
• Cataract Clinics
Examining Equipment
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Retinoscope and extra battery
Ophthalmoscope (direct and indirect)
Muscle light
Portable Slit Lamp
Trial frames (both adult and child)
Trial Lenses
Eye Chart (Snellen or equivilent)
Near Chart
Portable Lensometer ( eg. Pentax)
Tonopen or handheld Perkins Tonometer
Diagnostic drops
Equipment
• Hand sanitizer eg. Purell
• Insect repelent containing DEET
• Latex or latex free examination gloves
g
• Tissue paper
• Candies for kids ☺
Examining Equipment
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Transformer or power converter
Adaptors for electrical outlets
Powerbar
Extension cords
Portable table lamp
Rx pads/note paper/pens
Camera with macro lens
Screwdriver set or Leatherman
Small flashlight
Batteries
Epidemiology of Eye Disease
Causing Blindness in Rural
Vietnam
• Cataracts 40%
• Refractive 30%
• Corneal scars 20%
• Congenital 5%
• Other 5%
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5/13/2013
An Effective Eyeglass Program
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Work with local eyeglass store
New glasses approx $3.50 per pair
Screen patients quickly
Interpreters are key
Win-- Win situation
Win
• Optical store happy they get the business;
patients happy they get proper prescription
glasses
An Effective Eyeglass Program
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Dr. Len Smith
Yellowknife Ophthalmologist
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5/13/2013
Refinement of High Refractive
Errors
Treatment of Glaucoma
• Free drops
• laser
Treatment of cataracts
• Local Ophthalmologists
• Generous donations of surgical
supplies, IOL’s and medications from
Alcon, Allergan, Bausch& Lomb and
Novartis.
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Can Tho Eye Hospital
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Dr. Liem and Dr. Pham
Cataract Surgery In Vinh Long,
Can Tho
Pterygium
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Trachoma
Corneal Scars
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Family Medicine
The G.P. Team
Vietnamese Physicians
• Medical (Pharmacological) care
• Supportive care
• Team care
• Some referral ability
• Always try to be loving care
• Continuity of care?
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Multiple conditions
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Dental
No power, flash light only
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Where do we start?
Put patients on tables, faster
Pharmacy
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People waiting in the heat to be
seen by our medical team
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Every patient gets:
1 box of noodles
Rice
Sugar
medicine
Children the same
everywhere
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5/13/2013
Visiting the Orphanage
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Blind Child With
Hydrocephalus
Little Girl With a Congenital
Heart defect
Dr’s looking at her medical
records
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Donating Funds To Orphanage
How we traveled
10--Boeing 777
10
Great driver for narrow roads
We make it !!! No accident.
accident.
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5/13/2013
On the bus, tired after a hard
days work
Sight Seeing
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Being A Tourist
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Our Lady
of La Vang
Sanctuary
Great food from the sisters
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Heart surgery patients and
Sister Anna
Obstacles
• Customs : Bringing Medications and
equipment into the country
• Government Officials can shut down a clinic
at any time
• Unforeseen
U f
changes
h
in
i plans
l
• Remote locations may not have adequate
power supply or water
• Working conditions may be less than
optimum
• Equipment malfunction or breakdown
We need interpreters and
volunteers!!!!
All the money raised from dinner goes to
buy food, medicine, eye glasses, cataract
surgery and heart surgery for children.
All volunteers paid their own expenses
$1,300 for 2 weeks all inclusive
$1,500 for air ticket to Vietnam
Get to work hard 2 weeks helping people
and having fun, priceless!!
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5/13/2013
Pending Missions
• October 13 – October 27, 2013
y 2014
• Summer JJuly
• Fund raising dinner Sunday May 26,
$60 at the Pink Pearl restaurant.
Contact Information
2013 Virginia S. Boyce
Humanitarian Award
EMAS Evangelical Medical Aid Society
www.emascanada.org
Rev. Tien Tran - frtran@hotmail.com
f
h
l
Dr. David Neima - dneima@hotmail.com
Dr. Jim Lane - drjlane@shaw.ca
Warren Whitford – wawhitford@hotmail.com
Dr. Tyree Carr M.D
JCAPHO President
It’s easy to serve those who
will serve you back…
So serve those who cannot
serve you.
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