Cambodia

The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital is a large globe-trotting plane that functions as a fully operational ophthalmology clinic, teaching center, and surgical suite. The humanitarian mission of ORBIS is to provide the awareness and training to “cure blindness” and help promote the long term eradication of preventable, treatable eye problems in underserved communities.

The hospital, which first took off in 1986, has flown to 92 countries to date and serves as a formidable teaching hospital where countless local ophthalmologists come not only for lectures on techniques from volunteer experts but also for hands on training on both local patients and state of the art virtual reality simulations which mimic real surgical conditions.

In April 2008, Dr. Julie Nam was selected to be an integral team member on a surgical mission to Cambodia for a weeklong teaching and training intensive. The ORBIS team directed Cambodian ophthalmologists through surgical procedures which were broadcast live to an on-board classroom next door where observing doctors could ask questions via intercom.