Focus On: Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital
Courtesy of Dr. Shroff’s
Background
With a four-year grant of $680,000, Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, an eye care system including hospitals, satellite clinics, and vision centers in the Uttar Pradesh region of India, set out to improve and expand eye care services to the surrounding areas in need.
Project Outcomes
By launching an ambitious program to recruit and train Allied Ophthalmic Professionals (AOPs), young eye care paraprofessionals serving in roles such as vision technicians, nursing assistants, and patient educators, Dr. Shroff’s succeeded in freeing doctors’ time to deliver specialized and surgical services, thereby dramatically increasing the efficiency and volume of available eye care. AOPs are now central to the organization’s operations. They provide the backbone of ophthalmic service delivery, play a vital role in coordinating and managing patient workflows, and act as a bridge between surgeons and patients. The impact on the lives of the young women trained in the program, their families, and society has been life-changing as well. Through the production of 339 new ophthalmic technicians, 272 new vision technicians, 114 patient educators, and 186 medical record assistants, the project has transformed the availability of eye care for the region’s visually impaired population.