Recently, the DND International Eye Hospital collaborated with the AMIE – VIET SING Club and the Central Vietnamese Buddhist Association to organize 179 free eye surgeries for financially disadvantaged and elderly individuals with various eye conditions in provinces including Phu Tho, Hai Duong and Hanoi.
Community healthcare initiatives have been a regular and ongoing effort of the DND International Eye Hospital for the past five years since its establishment. By 2015, the hospital found a valuable partner in volunteer programs, the AMIE Club under the Vietnam Sing International Trading Company. In the past year, the Hospital and AMIE Club have conducted thousands of free surgeries, bringing light and hope to impoverished patients nationwide.
In March 2016, the DND International Eye Hospital and AMIE Club, in collaboration with local health centers in Phu Tho, Hai Duong and Hanoi, conducted screenings for various eye diseases and provided free medication to the underprivileged. Through these examinations, the medical team identified 210 patients requiring eye surgeries, who were then brought to the DND International Eye Hospital for free surgeries on April 2nd and 3rd, 2016.
Out of the 210 patients brought to the hospital, 179 were deemed fit for surgery. 157 surgeries involving lens replacements using the Phaco method and 22 vitrectomies were successfully performed, with all patients achieving positive surgical outcomes and being discharged on the same day.
In addition to the support from the AMIE Club, the hospital also received significant contributions from the Central Vietnamese Buddhist Association, philanthropists and the 14C Volunteer Club, which provided 220 vegetarian meals and assisted the hospital in caring for patients before and after surgery.
Speaking about this voluntary activity, Dr. Dang Van Que, Deputy Director of DND International Eye Hospital, shared: ‘We always believe that “rich with two eyes, difficult with two hands”, especially for the elderly. With the golden heart of the AMIE charity club, the kindness of the Central Vietnamese Buddhist Association, the hospital always creates the best conditions to serve the elderly. On behalf of the hospital, I extend deep gratitude to the philanthropists who didn’t hesitate to travel far to support today’s humanitarian medical examination program. I wish them good health to continue accompanying the hospital in community healthcare activities.
Representing the 179 individuals who underwent surgery, Mr. Vi Xuan Quang (from Phu Tho) expressed: ‘I deeply thank the medical team at DND International Eye Hospital. We are truly grateful and touched by the dedicated efforts of the doctors who worked tirelessly, even forgetting to eat, to perform surgeries for us. I also want to express my gratitude to the Buddhist monks of the Central Vietnamese Elderly Association and the volunteers who have helped us immensely”.
Some significant images from the program:
