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ORBIS International
Brings World’s Only Flying Eye Hospital To Memphis By Shane Nolan |
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November 11, 2011 - ORBIS International, a leading global organization dedicated to saving sight worldwide, makes its final U.S. stop in Memphis as part of the North American Goodwill Tour. The tour kicked off earlier this year in Los Angeles with the announcement by FedEx of a new 5-year, $5.375 million commitment to ORBIS in the form of cash and in-kind contributions.
In
addition, FedEx Express is donating an MD-10 cargo
aircraft to ORBIS to be converted into the
third-generation, state of the art Flying Eye Hospital. |
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Additionally,
the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital just completed its final medical
program of the year in Trujillo, Peru, which was sponsored by
FedEx. “FedEx team
members here in Memphis and around the globe have supported
ORBIS for almost three decades, one of our longest-running
relationships with a nonprofit organization,” said James R.
Parker, executive vice president, FedEx Express Air Operations.
“Our pilots volunteer to fly the plane on its sight-saving
missions around the world.
“All ORBIS
pilots train here in Memphis at the FedEx flight simulator. Our
mechanics provide maintenance support and we donate the use of
our unparalleled network and our aviation expertise. Why do we
help this eye hospital fly to places in need? Because ORBIS
significantly has improved the lives of millions of people
around the world who will now experience the gift of sight.”
The Flying
Eye Hospital is the world’s only airplane with a fully
functioning state-of-the-art eye hospital on board. ORBIS brings
dedicated eye care professionals from across the world to
developing countries to provide two to three weeks of training
and state-of-the-art surgical demonstrations. ORBIS volunteer
doctors train local doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and
technicians in the skills necessary to provide high-quality eye
care to their communities---skills that will prevent and treat
avoidable causes of blindness such as cataracts, glaucoma and
diabetic retinopathy. Worldwide, there are 39 million blind persons, and 90 percent of them live in developing countries where there is a severe lack of proper medical care. At least 80 percent of vision impairment cases are preventable or treatable. Since 1982, ORBIS has conducted programs in 89 countries, impacting the lives of more than 15 million people. |