The new David W. Bernolfo Global Vision Center is providing the John A. Moran Eye Center's outreach team with vital spaces and state-of-the-art equipment to improve eye care and education worldwide.
Focused on creating sustainable eye care in more than 25 countries, the outreach team works to train local ophthalmologists in their homelands and at Moran as part of its International Observer Program. A new telemedicine hub housed in the Bernolfo Center bolsters this mission by supporting a host of real-time educational opportunities.
With the outreach team conducting multiple local and international trips each month, the space was designed to promote efficiency. A dedicated storage room allows the team to easily organize and pack the thousands of pieces of equipment, medicines, and tools necessary to set up sight-restoring surgical camps in remote locations.
"Now, our international partners can just use their smart phones to connect with Moran experts," explained Outreach Division Manager Michael Yei. "Our new telemedicine capabilities allow us to actually examine the eyes of patients in remote locations and share information. This is so helpful for the medical experts we're training 
around the world."
The center also provides computer terminals where visiting physicians can access information and view surgical videos, dedicated lab space, and a surgical simulator that enable residents and international observers to study eye anatomy and safely develop surgical skills.
With the outreach team conducting multiple local and international trips each month, the space was designed to promote efficiency. A dedicated storage room allows the team to easily organize and pack the thousands of pieces of equipment, medicines, and tools necessary to set up sight-restoring surgical camps in remote locations.
"We are already more productive," said Yei, "and we are able now to plan additional trips that extend the impact of our work."
The outreach team recently returned from a two-week trip to Micronesia, where they performed 250 sight-restoring surgeries, 55 laser procedures, 170 prescription eyeglasses, and 940 reading eyeglasses.
